EE Data Collecting in Sri Lanka’s Surfing Hot Spot

The Extended Essay (EE) is a required task for all IB students to participate in. What is so interesting about it, is the fact that it is a independent research task in which students can select whatever they are interested in, so long as it falls into one of the IB subjects within school. I decided to do a World Studies Extended Essay (WSEE) which differs slightly from a regular EE. In a typical EE, we focus on a single subject. For a WSEE, we have two different IB subjects that are used in order to help answer a research question. I chose to look at the issue of renewable energy and power consumption within Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka using methods from Physics and Geography.

I felt passionate about the issue of green energy, which connect to UN SDG#7 (Affordable & Clean Energy).  Ioriginally wanted to investigate areas across Sri Lanka that had strong wind potential for wind turbines. Due to COVID and restrictions, I focused on a specific area (Arugam Bay) to analyze the potential for wind energy to provide for its population. The selected area, Arugam Bay, is a fishing village located southeast of the island. Arugam bay is famous for its multiple surfing points, with people coming from all across the world to enjoy the waves. Arugam bay is a special location for me as I had learnt to surf there. Over the spring break (2021), my family planned a trip to the east coast and so I decided to do my field work during that time.

I am enthusiastic when it comes to nature and even more with renewable energies. Even before the EE, I had an interest in understanding wind energy. What had first sparked my interest in renewables started with a power cut in my neighborhood. While I melted in the heat one of our neighbors was chilling because of the fact that they had installed solar photovoltaic panels. My curiosity grew about the issue of energy security. I wondered how governments (like Sri Lanka) could promote renewable energy to meet power needs. This was the start of my inquiry process to the WSEE.

For the project I spent a weekend in Arugam bay where I focused on two different components to address my research question. For geography, I conducted surveys to the residents in Arugam bay to understand the average power (electricity) consumption. By understanding the average power consumption, I would be able to generalize the total power (electricity) used in Arugam bay per month. Next I conducted my physics experiment, where I measured different areas in Arugam bay to find the wind potential for these locations. By understanding how much power is needed on average in Arugam bay, I can calculate the number of wind turbines needed to meet the needs of the town.
The process of collecting data was quite the adventure. From traversing up giant boulders to running into elephants I faced several challenges attempting to collect data. Some of the locations which I visited were included, Elephant Rock, Whisky Point, Pottuvil, Kudumbigala monastery. With the blistering sands of Pottuvil and the ancient dagaba (stupa) on the summit of the hill, I have had an interesting experience visiting all these locations.

 

When it came to interviewing the population in Arugam Bay, from my experience with hotel managers, shop owners and surfers, I found that the people were very friendly and happy to answer my questions. Due to COVID, there has not been a sustainable number of tourist, and it has led to many shops going out of business. I found that the highest power consumption of energy was from hotel owners (80000 rupees per month) which contrasted with individuals (xxx rupees a month).

 

After conducting my field study, I feel confident about transitioning towards processing data and writing up the EE.  The data I collected show to have wind power potential in certain areas of Arugam bay. My next step is to calculate the power possibly generated by a wind turbine(s). There are other aspects within this project such as understanding the implications of wind turbines, however I feel I was successful in reaching my 50% of the EE.