Wind Force to add 100MW of renewable energy to national grid | Sunday Observer

Wind Force to add 100MW of renewable energy to national grid

27 August, 2023
CEO, WindForce, Lasith Wimalasena, Managing Director, WindForce, Manjula Perera, Director and CEO, Lakdhanavi, M. J. M. N. Marikkar  and CEO and Co-Founder, The Blue Circle, Olivier Duguet in Colombo. Pic: Wimal Karunatillike
CEO, WindForce, Lasith Wimalasena, Managing Director, WindForce, Manjula Perera, Director and CEO, Lakdhanavi, M. J. M. N. Marikkar and CEO and Co-Founder, The Blue Circle, Olivier Duguet in Colombo. Pic: Wimal Karunatillike

Wind Force will add 100MW of renewable energy to the national electricity grid by building a power plant in Siyambalanduwa in the Moneragala district, to generate 100 MW of solar power, WindForce Managing Director Manjula Perera said.

The project is also Sri Lanka’s first integrated renewable energy project, combining power generation, storage, and transmission. This project also includes a 12MWh battery storage system, a grid substation and a 27km transmission line.

During construction, the project will provide employment for about 500 unskilled workers, with ongoing opportunities for 50 unskilled workers post-commissioning, in the Moneragala district.

Founded in 2010, WindForce has commissioned 30 clean power plants with a total installed capacity of 245.1 MW, 60% of which are within Sri Lanka.

“The project investment is USD 152 million and is backed by The Blue Circle, a global renewable power company based in Singapore, with an equity stake of 40%. WindForce and Lakdhanavi Ltd, share the remaining 60%,” he said.

Director, CEO of Lakdhanavi Ltd, M.J.M.N. Marikkar said, “This is one of the fastest project awarded by CEB within eight months from the date of submitting the bid.”

Wind Force is the very first privately owned venture licensed by the CEB to transmit renewable power in Sri Lanka, he said.

CEB’s objective is to increase the power generation capacity of the country from 4,043 megawatts (MW) to 6,900 MW by 2025 with a significant increase in renewable energy. “By 2030, we hope to achieve 70% of Sri Lanka’s energy through Renewable Energy (RE) and presently we are at the 50% mark,” Marikkar said.

He said that Adani Group of India with an investment of US$ 442 million will set up a wind power plant in the North and the East of Sri Lanka with a combined capacity of 350 MW and some more new ventures involved in renewable energy will commence operations in the future.

Blue Circle CEO/Co-founder Olivier Duguet said they operate many Renewable Energy projects around the world and was keen to invest in this Sri Lanka due to high abundance of natural resources such as wind and sunlight.

Comments