ECONOMYNEXT- The proposed purchase price of a wind power project by India’s Adani group in Sri Lanka is below other renewable rate give without competitive tender, according to Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera.
The rupee equivalent of the dollar tariff for Adani wind plants is 27.65 rupees, a unit Wijesekera told parliament, which was below a rate set for feed in tariffs by a committee.
“You requested and we were also blamed for giving only 22.50 rupees for rooftop solar and to take it to 45 rupees to encourage it,” Wijesekera said responding to a question from Athureliye Rathana, a monk who supports renewable energy and opposed chemical fertilizer.
“We were told to give 45 rupees. We appointed a committee, which looked at the US dollar rate at the time, interest and import costs and gave a feed in tariff of 37 rupees a unit.”
“Ground mounted wind is given 43 rupees for plants below 10 MW. The Adani proposal is below 30 rupees.
“We are now giving 37 rupees for solar and 43 for wind through feed in tariff for local companies. If we are getting below 30 rupees it is an advantage.”
Minister Wijesekera said the proposed price was 0.897 US cents. It was not clear whether he meant 8.97 US cents.
Sri Lanka’s rupee has been allowed to appreciate to 308 to the US dollar by the central bank, after operating deflationary policy.
Adani had proposed setting up 500MW of wind plants in Mannar and Pooneryn. The actual plant factor in Mannar is already known and is known to have high plant factor.
An energy permit was approved by Sri Lanka’s Sustainable Energy Authority for the Pooneryn plant for 234MW last month.
Long term power purchase agreement set by negotiated rates has been controversial especially after the CEB law was amended to allow large plants without competitive tender.
Plants on competitive tenders have come at sharply lower rates than feed in tariffs when open bids were called.
Unusually, small plants have also come at very low rates in the past, defying the ‘economies of scale argument’ which has been attributed to a more competition from bidders who are willing to bid for smaller plants. (Colombo/Mar07/2024)