The Adani Group on Friday said the Sri Lankan government is reviewing the tariffs agreed upon under a power purchase agreement (PPA) for its wind power projects, but said this was part of a “standard review process”.
Reports that Adani Group’s 484 megawatt (MW) wind power projects in Sri Lanka’s northern Mannar and Pooneryn districts have been cancelled are false and misleading, a spokesperson for the group said.
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Sri Lanka’s cabinet’s decision on January 2 to reevaluate the tariff approved in May 2024 is part of a “standard review process”, particularly with a new government, to ensure that the terms align with their current priorities and energy policies, the group said, adding Adani remains committed to investing $1 billion in Sri Lanka’s green energy sector.
Sri Lanka suffered from crippling power blackouts and fuel shortages during an economic crisis in 2022. The island nation has been trying to fast-track renewable energy projects to hedge against surges in imported fuel costs.
The Daily FT, Sri Lanka’s leading business newspaper, reported that the Cabinet, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, reversed the decision to give a contract for building wind power plants in Mannar and Pooneryn to Adani Green Energy SL Ltd. This decision, made in June last year and sanctioned by Dissanayake’s predecessor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, involved a 484 MW wind power project.
At the time, Sri Lankan Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera took to X to announce that the tariff under the agreement would be Rs 24.78 per kWh, as compared to the average cost of energy in Sri Lanka at that time of Rs 39.02 per kWh.
During his election campaign, the current President promised to cancel the deal and invite international tenders to develop wind power in Sri Lanka. Following through on this promise, the Cabinet decided on December 30 to revoke the previous cabinet decision made in May 2024, which had approved the Adani Green Energy project.
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In June 2024, the project was awarded to the company by Dissanayake’s predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe. Concerns were raised over the arbitrary price of US cents 8.26 per kilowatt hour when the local bidders offered 4.88 cents.
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