Colombo (LNW): The Adani group, which has been given permission to put up 340 MW of onshore wind power projects in Sri Lanka, has asked the Sri Lankan government for enhancement of the approved capacity to 500 MW.
The proposal is under consideration, D V Chanaka, Sri Lanka’s State Minister for Power and Energy, confirmed.
The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka 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 USD 442 Million.
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.Also, the new project will generate 1500-2000 new employment opportunities.
It is also reported in Indian media including the Hindu Businessline that the Adani group would bring into the island country its own 5.2 MW turbines, a prototype of which has been working for a year at Mundra, Gujarat.
The Adani group has developed the machine with technology from W2E (Wind to Energy) GmbH of Germany. The blades describe a circle of 165 meters diameter and the nacelle can sit on towers as tall as 140 meters. It can work at wind speeds of 3 meters per minute (very low) to 20 mps, reaching its optimum power production at 12 mps wind speeds.
Sri Lanka has huge wind power potential, with wind speeds of 75 mps at its good sites. According to an estimate of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the USA made many years ago, Sri Lanka has offshore wind potential to put up 45 GW.
If an estimate is made now, on the basis of more modern machines, the number would be much higher, say industry experts, who also pointed out that the country has immense offshore wind potential, too. Sri Lanka itself would need very little of it—perhaps 10 GW in 2030, the experts said.
Sri Lanka can make money by selling the surplus to India — just as Bhutan does with hydro power.
Chanaka said an agreement for building a power transmission line project, which could possibly run from Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka to Madurai.The Indian wind industry is eying putting up projects in Sri Lanka.
