104MW Wind Power Project in Mannar to be commissioned on Tuesday

by Ifham Nizam

The 104MW Wind Power Project in Mannar will be commissioned under the auspices of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday.

The plant’s contribution to the national grid translates into a cost saving of Rs. 10 billion annually, while also being environmentally friendly, a top Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) official said.

CEB Chief Eng. Vijitha Herath told The Sunday Island that already 30 towers have been installed. “We erected 18 towers recently to complete the project”.

He described the project as the largest and most economical among wind power plants in Sri Lanka.

“Our next target is to harness the balance 200MW wind potential through the ongoing transmission and grid substation,” he added.

The project represents the first large scale wind project ever planned in the country as previous plants were in the range of 10 to 15MW.

The Power and Energy Ministry said the EPC contractor, Vestas, did a fine job on the basis of erecting each tower within a span of three days.

The 30 3.45MW towers will have a total capacity of 104MW with an expected annual generation capacity of 400 million kWh units at Rs. 8/kWh rate.

Engineers said the project will replace Rs. 33/kWh diesel generation. In other words, the Mannar project will save Rs. 10 billion annually to CEB and the country.

The project was awarded through an international tender to Vestas, which has a broad range of capabilities and solutions to provide low cost wind energy across the globe. The project was conceived by CEB and was fully funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Vestas will provide the Mannar Wind Power Project Phase 1 with delivery, installation and commissioning of 30 V126-3.45 MW wind turbines, as well as civil and electrical work. The project will also include full scope Active Output Management 4000 (AOM 4000) based service agreement as well as a Vestas Online® Business SCADA solution.