Adani Green Energy plans to invest over 1 billion USD (Rs.8,351 crore) in setting up wind energy projects in Sri Lanka in what would be the island nation’s single largest foreign direct investment and the biggest ever power project, according to a PTI report.
The company will set up two wind farms in Sri Lanka’s Mannar town and Pooneryn village in the north with a total installed capacity of 484 megawatt with a 740 million USD investment.
Power transmission infrastructure will see another 290 million USD, two sources with knowledge of the matter told PTI.
The projects will not just be Sri Lanka’s largest renewable energy project but also the nation’s biggest power project to date.
Sri Lanka, which suffered from crippling power blackouts and fuel shortages during an economic crisis in 2022, has enacted a new legislation to revamp the country’s power sector and attract investment in renewable energy.
The move, which is in line with the commitments made under a 2.9 billion USD aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), seeks to reduce losses in the state-run power company Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and make the sector more appealing to investors.
Adani’s project is also strategically important as it would restrict China’s economic influence in the Indian Ocean, particularly Sri Laka’s northern region, which is very close to India’s southern mainland.
Sources said Adani’s project has received Sri Lankan cabinet approval and a power purchase agreement (PPA) is being finalised, post which the Indian giant will begin work and deliver the project in 2 years.
Adani’s tariff is lower than government’s own wind power plant and the country’s fossil fuel-based power.
The project will contribute to Sri Lanka’s energy security, generate clean, renewable energy to the tune of 1,500 million units per annum, meeting energy demand of about 0.6 million households. It will also generate 1200 local employment opportunities, displace fossil fuel worth USD 270 million annually and cut CO2 emission by 1.06 million tonnes a year.
