President commissions 20MW windscape Mannar power plant

Colombo, Jan. 15 (Daily Mirror) - The 20-megawatt ‘Windscape Mannar’ wind power plant, constructed by CEYLEX Renewables in Mannar, was officially connected to the national grid this morning under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The project forms part of the Government’s programme to achieve Sri Lanka’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Under the Windscape Mannar initiative, Sri Lanka has, for the first time in its energy history, commissioned four of the country’s largest wind turbines, each with a capacity of five megawatts.

As the project has been implemented entirely by a local company, a significant amount of foreign exchange that would otherwise have gone to foreign contractors has been retained within the country, contributing to the strengthening of the domestic economy.

President Dissanayake unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the opening of the power plant and also took part in the turbine commissioning ceremony.

Minister of Energy Engineer Kumara Jayakody, Deputy Minister of Energy Arkham Ilyas, Mannar District Secretary K. Kanakeswaran, Ceylon Electricity Board General Manager Engineer Shirley Kumar, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority Chairman Professor Wijendra Bandara, and CEYLEX Renewables Chief Executive Officer Engineer Sameera Ganegoda were among the officials present at the event.

Representatives of CEYLEX Renewables and several other government officials also attended the ceremony.