100 MW Mannar Wind Power Plant project nears completion

Access Engineering PLC, the Balance of Plant (BOP) subcontractor of the Mannar Wind Power Plant, is nearing the completion of the scope of work assigned for this ambitious project which is a flag bearer to drive Sri Lanka to a future of clean renewable energy.

Located in the southern part of Mannar Island, the 100 MW semi-dispatchable wind power plant is expected to supply more than 380 million units of electricity to the national grid annually where electricity from this project can be generated at less than 5 US Cents/kwhr.

The project, which was undertaken by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) began in March 2019 with the contract awarded to Vestas Asia Pacific A/S, a subsidiary of Vestas Wind Systems, a world-renowned Danish wind turbine manufacturer.

Access Engineering PLC (AEL), the foremost civil engineering and construction enterprise in Sri Lanka joined hands with Vestas Asia Pacific A/S as the civil engineering partner of the project playing a major role in the first large-scale wind farm in Sri Lanka.

The project comprises 30 state-of-the-art wind turbines, each rated to 3.45 MW while the total installed capacity of this wind farm is 103.5 MW. This is a culmination of a long-term effort by the CEB to develop wind power in a large-scale manner exploiting the major monsoonal wind systems in Sri Lanka.

The scope of AEL includes the design and construction of turbine foundations, buildings, road networks, cable trenches for medium voltage (MV) cable laying, supply and installation of optical fibre cables, civil works pertaining to bird detection radar system, supply of employer’s project facilities and miscellaneous works/supplies for social safeguard commitments. 

With the Mannar Wind Power Plant project nearing completion, the plant is projected to displace large amounts of fossil fuel base electricity generation, avoiding emissions amounting to 285,000 metric-tons of CO2 to the environment, annually.

The project will also be the first major addition of renewable energy to the national grid, thus complementing the Government initiative to prioritise sustainable clean energy to the national grid.