India made recommendation for Adani Green: Sri Lankan power board

Under the MoU signed with CEB, Adani Green is conducting a feasibility study for wind power projects, according to the report

The Ceylon Electricity Board, in a clarification to a Sri Lankan business daily, has said that the Indian government recommended Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) for constructing wind power projects in the Mannar and Pooneryn regions of the country, according to a media report. Under the MoU signed with CEB, AGEL is conducting a feasibility study for wind power projects, according to the report. Project construction will begin after a suitable tariff is negotiated with the company, it said.

AGEL did not respond to an email questionnaire sent by Business Standard regarding the project. CEB officials were not immediately available for comment.   

In the clarification issued to Daily FT, a Sri Lankan business newspaper, CEB reportedly said: “A proposal from the Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), on the request and recommendation of the government of India, has been considered by the government, and has granted the policy clearance of the government for the Board of Investment (BOI) to proceed with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AGEL (signed on March 11, 2022).”

The CEB clarification to Daily FT said that ‘’the MoU deals with the macro issues and has not offered 500 MW of wind power in Mannar and Poonaryn areas to the said company at 7.55 cents per unit of electricity as claimed in your report.’’ It further said that no tangible effort has been made by the CEB or Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) to attract prospective potential investors to generate electrical energy from the renewable energy resources available on or below the surface of the land or the air space of the land of those declared areas.

The Sri Lankan government had recently denied claims made by then CEB chairman MMC Ferdinando before a parliamentary committee that Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajpaksa had summoned him on November 24, 2021, and told him that he was under pressure from the Indian government to hand over a local wind project to the Adani group. Ferdinando had even named Prime Minister Narendra Modi while referring to the political pressure from India.

Rajpaksa’s office denied issuing any authorization to award the project to any specific person or entity. His Twitter handle said the same.

Ferdinando retracted the statement and resigned from the post soon after.