The Adani Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sri Lanka Government bagging two renewable energy generation projects of considerable size in the neighbouring country. There is no official confirmation from either Adani Group or the Government of Sri Lanka, but it has been reported that the two projects will be based in Mannar and Pooneryn in the Northern Province.

The investment in both the renewable projects will be about $500 million and the combined power generation capacity of 500MW. Mannar lies in Sri Lanka’s north western coast. Pooneryn is located just south of the Jaffna Peninsula. Both the projects are in the north of Sri Lanka; India had objected to a Chinese energy project last year as it was too near the Tamil Nadu coast.

The projects will be completed in about a year. With this agreement, Sri Lanka has now assigned three major renewable energy projects in the North and Eastern Provinces. Just recently, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) got together into a joint venture to set up a 50MW solar power park in Sampur area of Trincomalee.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the Finance Ministry of Sri Lanka last Friday (March 11, 2022) between the representatives of Adani Group, Ceylon Electricity Board, Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) and the Board of Investment (BOI).

It has also been reported that a senior official in the State Ministry of Solar Power, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development has confirmed the signing of the agreements between these players for the two RE projects in Mannar and Pooneryn.

Recently, Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani had held talks with Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his visit to the island country. In the meanwhile, a team from the company had also visited the Mannar district to assess the possibility of wind energy potential of the place.

Sri Lanka has been under severe pressure with regards to power and energy as the country is burdened by the oil import bills. The Rajapaksa Government is bullish about the renewables expansion in the country. Six months ago, Adani Group had also bagged the strategic port terminal project in Colombo.