(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday morning (02) inspected the Mannar “Thambapavani” wind power plant owned by the Ceylon Electricity Board.
The Thambapavani Power Plant, the largest wind power plant in the country was connected to the national grid in December 2020.
The construction of the Thambapavani Wind Power Plant was planned in 2014 with the aim of empowering the country with electricity, providing a stable power supply and accelerating the development process.
The project includes a 36 km transmission system to Nadukuda Green Sub-Station and Pudukaman in Mannar. The total power capacity is 103.5 MW.
The Ceylon Electricity Board says the cost of generating a unit of electricity from this system is less than 08 rupees.
This eco-friendly, state-of-the-art wind farm with a number of specialized technologies for optimal power supply is considered a milestone in the journey towards renewable power generation.
Plans have been made to add another 50 megawatts to the national grid from the Thambapavani Wind Power Plant.
President Rajapaksa inquired about the progress of the power plant and instructed the officials to prepare a report immediately on the locations where new wind farms could be built. At present, 248 megawatts are added to the national grid by wind power plants.
The purpose of the President’s visit was to explore the possibility of increasing power output in a short period of time and the President inspected all the operations of the power plant.
The government aims to obtain 70% of the country’s total electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2030. It also aims to reduce electricity bills in the future by promoting low cost electricity generation without harming the environment.
Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge, State Minister Duminda Dissanayake, Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of Power Wasantha Perera, Secretary to the State Ministry K.H.D.K. Samarakoon, Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board Nalinda Illangakoon, Acting General Manager Rohantha Abeysekara and a number of officials were also present at the occasion.
A 150 hectares land 13 km along the southern coast of Mannar Island, which faces both major monsoon winds, was selected.
The power plant has 30 towers with a turbine height of 90 meters. The diameter of the rotating blades (windmills) is 126 meters and each wind turbine generates 3.45 megawatts of electricity.
