Sri Lanka gets USD-200m ADB loan for Mannar wind farm

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will receive a USD-200-million (EUR 170.3m) loan with sovereign guarantee from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a 100-MW wind project on Sri Lanka’s Mannar Island.

The bank announced the loan approval today. The project requires a total investment of USD 256.7 million, with USD 56.7 million coming from CEB.

The wind farm is to be completed near the end of 2021.

“The new Wind Power Generation Project will not only provide access to a clean and reliable power supply in Sri Lanka, but also create an environment for further wind power development through future public-private partnerships,” said Mukhtor Khamudkhanov, an ADB Principal Energy Specialist.

CEB is the executing and implementing agency for the project. With the experience gained from it, the electricity company will be able to define cost benchmarks and prepare for introducing competitive bidding for wind capacity, the ADB said. CEB will also learn how to better manage the flow of intermittent wind power on the grid.

Sri Lanka has managed to boost its electrification rate to 99% in 2016 from only 29% in 1990. Last year 67.2% of its power came from thermal sources, with hydropower and non-conventional renewables contributing 24.6% and 8.2%, respectively. The country aims to boost renewables, excluding large hydro, to 20% of total power generation by the end of the decade.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.85)

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