K.T.M. Udayanga Hemapala, Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, Sri Lanka.
| Photo Credit: Meera Srinivasan

Colombo is not seeking to renegotiate the contentious renewable energy project with Adani Green, a top Sri Lankan official said, a week after the company abruptly pulled out of a wind farm initiative in the island’s Northern Province.

Adani Green — which had pledged an investment of $ 442 million in wind power plants in Mannar and Pooneryn — informed Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment [BOI] in a letter dated February 12,2025, that it would “respectfully withdraw” from the project, even as the government sought a lower tariff for power purchase. In a media statement on the decision, a spokesperson of the Adani Group said: “We remain committed to Sri Lanka and are open to future collaboration if the Government of Sri Lanka so desires.”

Also read: Cannot justify Adani’s ‘excessive tariff’, Sri Lanka’s President Dissanayake tells Parliament

However, indicating that the outreach on such a future investment must come from the company’s side, and not Sri Lanka’s, K.T.M. Udayanga Hemapala, Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, told The Hindu on Thursday: “The company has decided to withdraw from the project, it is their call. We are now in the process of addressing the legal requirements after they decided to close the project. But if the company wishes to return, and commits an investment through the BOI, we are open to talking to them based on our position that the tariff must be lower,” he said. While the government is keen to bring in foreign investments to Sri Lanka, it would not lobby any specific investor, he added. “We welcome all investors through proper channels, they must follow due process. We will ensure that the investments are beneficial to our people.”

Citing ongoing cases at Sri Lankan courts challenging the Adani power project, Secretary Hemapala said the petitions were based on three main concerns: whether the project was to be considered “Government-to-Government”, the validity of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken, and the power-purchasing tariff.

Adani Green’s recent decision to withdraw from the project came weeks after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s Cabinet revoked a 2024 power purchasing agreement — signed by the predecessor President Ranil Wickremesinghe administration — according to which Sri Lanka was to purchase power at $0.0826, or 8.26 cents, per kWh from Adani Green Energy. The Cabinet decision was in line with President Dissanayake’s view that Adani Green’s tariff for the project was high , and went against his government’s stated aim of bringing down the electricity tariff by 30 % in the next five years.  Further, the Cabinet had appointed a committee to reevaluate the project. In response, a spokesman of the Adani Group told the media on January 24, 2024, that the Sri Lankan government’s decision to reevaluate the tariff was part of a “standard review process”, and categorically denied the project was cancelled as had been reported by some media. But, in just over a fortnight, Adani Green withdrew its investment.

Sampur solar plant

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has cleared a proposal to set up solar power plants in Sampur, in the eastern Trincomalee district, in a joint venture of the governments of Sri Lanka and India, through the Ceylon Electricity Board and National Thermal Power Corporation of India.  The plants, of 50 MW and 70 MW capacity, would come up in two stages, according to a statement issued by the Department of Government Information on Thursday. The decision appears to revisit an old project envisaged during the time of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration. In March 2022, the NTPC signed an agreement with CEB to jointly set up a 100 MW solar power plant in Sampur, a decade after a joint coal power project deal at the same location was signed and subsequently scrapped.

New Delhi:

The Adani Group said today that the US government report is linked to one contract of Adani Green Energy, representing approximately 10 per cent of the subsidiary’s business. None of the Adani Group’s 11 public companies is implicated or accused of any wrongdoing, the group’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jugeshinder Singh said in a statement.

The Adani Group has strongly condemned the US report, terming it “baseless.”

In his post on Saturday, CFO Jugeshinder Singh said no Adani entity is accused of any wrongdoing in the legal filing in US.

“You would have seen a lot of news in the last two days regarding Adani Group matters. This specifically relates to one contract of Adani Green which is roughly 10 per cent of overall business of Adani Green (there is a lot more precise and comprehensive detail of this which we will elaborate in an appropriate forum),” Mr Singh said in the statement.

Hi All,
You would have seen a lot of news in the last 2 days re @AdaniOnline matters. This specifically relates to one contract of #adanigreen which is roughly 10% of overall business of Adani Green(there is a lot more precise & comprehensive detail of this which we will…

— Jugeshinder Robbie Singh (@jugeshinder) November 23, 2024

“The Adani Group has a portfolio of 11 public companies and none are subject to indictment ( i.e. defendants in any legal proceedings in the recent DOJ lawyer filings to a court in NYC). None of the issuers ( i.e. companies in our portfolio or specific issuers that are subsidiaries of the public companies) are accused of any wrong doing in the said legal filing. There is a lot of news and reports that will try to pick unrelated items and create a headline. My humble request is that we will respond in fullness of time once we review in detail the matter as presented in the legal filing,” he added.

Mr Singh also said that the conglomerate became aware of the “specificity” of the allegations only two days ago.

After the report surfaced, the Adani Group said that these are mere allegations and must be seen only as that. It has also decided to examine a legal course of action. 

“The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied,” the Adani Group said in a statement.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

The move by Adani Green Energy Limited is in step with its January announcement of a plan to redeem the $750 million worth of notes, eight months ahead of the redemption date.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), the renewable energy arm of the ports-to power conglomerate run by billionaire Gautam Adani, on Monday (September 9, 2024) said it has redeemed $750 million worth of bonds as it deleverages business.

In a statement, the firm said it has completed “redemption of all outstanding $750 million 4.375% Holdco Notes due on September 8, 2024.” The move is in step with its January announcement of a plan to redeem the $750 million worth of notes, eight months ahead of the redemption date.

Adani Green Energy Q1 profit up nearly 95% to ₹629 crore

Issued in September 2021, the three-year Holdco Notes supported AGEL’s high-growth objectives. During the period, AGEL’s capacity has increased more than three-fold — from 3.5 gigawatt (GW) to 11.2 GW, registering a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 48%.

The company had in January stated it would pay $169 million from its reserves and internal accruals, and $300 million from the consideration from a joint venture with TotalEnergies Renewables. The remaining $281 million was to come from the initial tranche from a preferential issue of warrants.

That funding was completed with the receipt of the funds under the preferential allotment of ₹9,350 crore ($1.12 billion) to the promoters of the company.

“AGEL’s overall capital management philosophy has remained focussed on long-term value creation through asset development and positioned AGEL as a self-propelled growth engine. It also emphasises the structured approach to accomplish credit metrics akin to investment grade profile for its underlying debt capital raise programme,” the firm said in the statement on Monday (September 9, 2024.)

With this, AGEL is committed to having capital market issuances tailored for long-term infra asset classes supported through the predictable and robust cash flow stream to attain a long curve emulating underlying asset life.

“Over the years, the Capital Management Plan has matured to allow AGEL to have a ‘seasoned’ portfolio with a superior operational asset base supporting the under-construction development. With surplus cash from operating assets augmenting the under-construction projects’ requirement, AGEL’s overall capex programme remains fully funded with such operational assets cash flows and the available construction facility pool,” it said.

In addition, AGEL’s promoters had agreed, in December 2023, to subscribe to a preferential warrant amounting to ₹9,350 crore, out of which, ₹7,013 crore ($835 million equivalent) shall be available with AGEL to fund any accelerated capital expenditure requirements.

“AGEL thanks its investors and lenders for their confidence and its vendor partners, including Adani Infra (India) Limited and Adani Infra Management Services Limited, for their continuous support in achieving the accelerated growth plan, putting AGEL on track to achieve 50 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030,” it added.

AGEL is India’s largest renewable energy company and develops, owns, and operates utility-scale grid-connected solar, wind, hybrid, and hydro-pumped storage renewable power plants. AGEL currently has an operating renewable portfolio of 11.2 GW, the largest in India, spread across 12 States.

The company has set a target of achieving 50 GW by 2030, aligned to India’s decarbonisation goals.

New Delhi:

Many “pioneers” from nooks and corners of the country are coming up with innovative and brand new ideas, Adani Green Energy CEO Amit Singh said at the NDTV Infrashakti Awards today.

“India is a big country; we have so many innovators and pioneers in different parts of the country. They are coming up with brand new ideas which can scale, and that’s what we need,” Mr Singh said.

“When we have an award function as this, we’re able to identify these innovators and bring them to a platform where they meet and interact with industrialists and we can take that innovation and idea to the next level,” he said.

The Infrashakti campaign aims to go beyond steel and concrete and tell the story of India’s infrastructure growth through its people.

Infrashakti Awards, a defining part of the Infrashakti campaign, celebrates outstanding infrastructure practices across India. By highlighting exceptional individual and institutional initiatives, it aims to inspire innovation and excellence across the country.

The awards cover diverse categories, from engineering feats to sustainable urban planning.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)