Sri Lanka power project not cancelled, tariff is being re-evaluated: Adani

"Reports that Adani's 484 megawatt (MW) wind power projects in Mannar and Pooneryn have been cancelled are false and misleading," Adani Group spokesperson said

The Adani group on Friday denied cancellation of Adani Green Energy (AGEL)’s wind power project in Sri Lanka. The group said the tariffs for the project are being revaluated as part of a standard process.

 

Sri Lanka opened a probe into the group's local projects, the AFP reported, after US authorities indicted Gautam Adani and other group executives in November 2024 on bribery and other charges, all of which the conglomerate has denied.

 

While Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's Cabinet has revoked the 20-year power purchase deal signed in May 2024, it has not cancelled the project and has appointed a committee to review it, the AFP reported, citing an official document and a Lankan energy ministry official.

 

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Power and Energy declined to comment. But two ministry sources told Reuters they were still reviewing the project and the power purchase deal had not been revoked.

 

However, a spokesperson for the Adani group termed the reports misleading. “Reports that Adani’s 484 megawatt (Mw) wind power projects in Mannar and Pooneryn have been cancelled are false and misleading,” the spokesperson said in a media statement.

 

The statement said: “We categorically state that the project has not been cancelled… The Sri Lankan Cabinet’s decision of January 2 to revaluate the tariff approved in May 2024 is part of a standard review process, particularly with a new government, to ensure that the terms align with their current priorities and energy policies.”

 

The group statement added, “Adani remains committed to investing $1 billion in Sri Lanka’s green energy sector, driving renewable energy and economic growth.”

 

The Adani group is also building a container terminal in Sri Lankan capital Colombo in partnership with John Keells and Sri Lanka Port Authority.

 

This is not the first time the project has been in the news. In 2022, there was a political furore in Sri Lanka over the awarding of wind energy projects to Adani Green Energy without any tendering process. A year later in September 2023, Sri Lanka’s power and energy ministry moved a Cabinet-level memorandum to categorise the wind power projects awarded to AGEL as a “government-to-government” deal between Colombo and New Delhi, according to news reports.

 

Among other countries, Kenya has scrapped more than $2.5 billion in deals with the Adani group, including contracts to develop an airport and build power transmission lines, after the US indictment.

 

Under the power purchase deal, AGEL was to build two 484 Mw wind power stations in the South Asian island nation's northern province, with a total investment of $442 million. The company would be paid 8.26 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

 

The cash-strapped country, which has suffered from crippling power blackouts and fuel shortages, has been trying to speed green power generation to hedge against surges in imported fuel costs.