Sri Lanka has agreed to purchase powerat $0.0826, or 8.26 cents, per kWh from Adani Green Energy, which is executing a wind power project in Mannar and Pooneryn in the island’s Northern Province.
The country’s Cabinet cleared a proposal on Monday for a 20-year power purchase agreement with Adani Green Energy for the development of wind power stations to produce 484 MW of power. “On the current exchange rate considered as 1 $ = [Sri Lankan] ₹300, the cost of energy will be ₹24.78 per kWh,” Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said on social media platform ‘X’ on Tuesday. “The current average cost of energy in SL is ₹39.02 per kWh,” he added.
While Sri Lanka would pay in Sri Lankan Rupees, based on the prevailing exchange rate at the time of payment, according to the minister, details of clauses on possible revisions in rates were awaited.
Sri Lanka generates about 4,200 MW of power a year, and authorities have pledged to add another 2,800 MW to the national grid through renewable energy sources over the next three years. In 25 years, the island nation aims to generate 100 % of its energy through renewable energy.
The $442-million wind power plant in northern Sri Lanka is the Adani Group’s second major investment in Sri Lanka, after its $700 million investment in the West Container Terminal at the strategic Colombo port.
The proposed renewable energy plant in the Northern Province earlier sparked controversy over the process followed by Colombo to select the company. More recently, residents of Mannar and environmentalists voiced apprehensions that the project could adversely impact biodiversity and local livelihoods in the area. Authorities and Adani Green, in turn, said they had factored in environmental considerations before finalising the project.
Apart from the partnership in green energy, India and Sri Lanka are exploring setting up high-capacity power grid interconnection between the countries. In February, the India – Sri Lanka Joint Working Group (JWG) for cooperation in the Power sector met in Colombo for its 5th round of discussions. A proposal to link Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province and Chennai. through land cables and undersea transmission, is under discussion.
