COLOMBO – Sri Lanka is planning to call bids to develop two 500 Megawatt wind plants offshore of Mannar and Puttalam after feasibility studies are concluded in 2027, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman Tilak Siyambalapitiya said.
Addressing a forum organized by Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board, Siyambalapitiya said the CEB has to make detailed environmental studies, sea floor, and logistics before calling for bids.
The Mannar site is substantially superior in energy yield compared to Puttalam he said, explaining that it will be located about 100 kilometres offshore, but wind turbines could be planted on the sea floor, with power brought to the shore by cables with no offshore grid substation and connected to the grid.
The Puttalam site was about 10 kilometres offshore but the wind was not as good as Mannar, he said, noting that transmission cost was also higher, requiring new lines as the existing capacity was full.
A third location that could be developed later was Hambantota, which was less attractive, Siyambalapitiya.
He said the two plants were for local consumption in line with a power generation plan, but noted that due to working offshore, costs were about three times that of onshore development at the moment.
Bids had come in at below 5 cents a unit in Mannar, Siyambalapitiya said but expressed confidence that by the time bids are called in 2027, international prices would have likely come down. He also said that it would be 2028 when building work begins, noting that a wind farm in Mannar built by the CEB and financed by the Asian Development Bank required two years of study.
Explaining the site has bird radar to stop migrating birds, he said the plant last year lost about 5% of potential energy due to automatic shutdowns of turbines when bird flocks were detected by radar.
However, there was a problem with birds striking transmission lines. In addition, due to coastal fishing (mar-dal), birds were diving to pick up dead fish, which is not detected by radar, Siyambalapitiya said, adding that offshore development will also have to address the issues of birds and mitigatory actions that need to be carried out.
“Obviously we will have radars. More radars as well and similar mitigatory measures will have to be adopted,” Siyambalapitiya said, adding, “We need to be together with the birds and harness the energy from the wind as well.”
-economynext.com
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