Sri Lanka is to tap wind power in the North in a bigway following the approval given by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) has issued a letter of approval to India’s Adani Green Energy Limited for the two wind power plants to be set up in Mannar and Pooneryn at a total investment of US$ 442 million.
This investment of around $500 million in the power sector is significant especially at a time when SL is in poor economic shape and generation expansion plans stagnant and in disarray.
The large capacity wind power addition will come useful for reducing the power system shortfall forecasted to arise in the near future.
Now BOI approval is granted at last after much delay, these projects can be constructed on a fast-track basis as is the case in the wind industry.
Another positive factor is the ‘economy of scale’ benefit (due to large capacity) that helps to yield a competitive tariff.
The project will add 350 MW of electricity to the national grid within two years, the BOI said.
Thus, the wind power plant in Mannar will operate at a capacity of 250 MW while the wind power plant in Pooneryn will operate at a capacity of 100 MW.
The two wind power plants of 350 MW are scheduled to be commissioned in two years and accordingly, they will be added to the national grid by 2025, the BOI revealed. Furthermore, the new project will generate 1500-2000 new employment opportunities.
Industry news reports that the Adani Group have bought the design of a high-capacity wind turbine from a German organisation on an exclusive basis, and they have completed the installation of a prototype unit in India.
Sri Lankan Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said on Wednesday that the progress on the renewable energy project to generate 500 MW was discussed with the Adani Green Energy officials.
In August last, the Adani Group was issued approval to start wind power projects in Pooneryn, in the country’s northeast.
At that time Adani Green Energy was issued provisional approval for two wind projects of 286 MW in Mannar and 234 MW in Pooneryn for an investment of over US$ 500 million.
Via the MoU AGEL conducted at its own cost a detailed feasibility study on the proposed project complying with existing laws of Sri Lanka, and submit the feasibility study report to the other parties for review and for acceptance.
AGEL, the renewable energy arm of the diversified Adani Group has seen a 35% year on year increase in operational capacity to 7,324 MW in India as at 31 December 2022 and is on track to complete ~ 8,300 MW, the largest in India, by end of FY23. AGEL is also the largest operational hybrid power generation capacity of 1,440 MW.
