{"id":30632,"date":"2014-06-14T23:13:51","date_gmt":"2014-06-15T03:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=30632"},"modified":"2014-06-14T23:13:51","modified_gmt":"2014-06-15T03:13:51","slug":"is-govt-planning-to-hand-out-lucrative-wind-power-contracts-to-political-henchmen-by-not-calling-for-open-tenders-to-set-up-mannar-wind-energy-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=30632","title":{"rendered":"Is Govt Planning to Hand Out Lucrative Wind Power Contracts to Political Henchmen By not calling for Open Tenders to set up Mannar Wind energy Park?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>\n

Namini Wijedasa
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

A proposal to distribute lucrative wind power contracts to local investors without calling for open tenders has run into a storm with energy experts strongly criticising the move. They fear the contracts will be dished out to political henchmen \u2014 a growing practice \u2014 and that, under existing terms and conditions, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will have to buy wind energy from the plants at inflated costs. These prices will eventually be passed on to the consumers who are already paying the highest tariffs in the region.<\/p>\n

The latest plans were revealed in a Cabinet memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Power and Energy in April. The document, a copy of which was obtained by the Sunday Times, envisages the setting up of a wind energy park in Mannar to generate 375 megawatts (MW) of power but divides the plan into three segments.<\/p>\n

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Firstly, the CEB will set up a subsidiary to generate 100MW of wind power. Secondly, 150MW will be generated by individual investors selected through an open competitive bidding process among local developers. Foreign partnership of up to 49 per cent of equity will be permitted, if necessary. Payments for wind energy will be based on competition through the open bidding process.<\/p>\n

It is the third provision that has provoked experts to speak out. The memorandum says the final 125MW of power will be produced by local investors to be selected on a first-come first-served basis, and not through open competitive bidding. Foreign partnership of up to 49 per cent of equity has again been allowed.
\nThis segment has been divided into small blocks of 10MW or less and investors are to be paid on a \u201ccost reflective basis\u201d. Industry sources warn that, if prevailing rates are applied, it could be as high as Rs. 22 a unit of electricity. Coal power, which is now the cheapest form of electricity available in Sri Lanka, is around Rs. 9 a unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t there be open bidding for the 125MW as well?\u201d asked Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, an Energy and Infrastructure Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Colombo. \u201cNot having bidding is likely to pave the way for corruption, favouritism and nepotism. It also deprives the system of being able to obtain the best deals.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it is the CEB that buys electricity, it is the Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) under the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energy that gives out the licences for the production of electricity from sun, water, wind, and plant material or biomass.<\/p>\n

\u201cWind power equipment prices are decreasing in the international market,\u201d said a senior sector analyst, who did not wish to be identified. \u201cLocal interest rates have also gone down significantly. The only way to find out the most reasonable price for these projects is to have a competitive bidding process.\u201d
\n\u201cEven where bidding is concerned, I would like to see a price cap because we don\u2019t need wind energy at just any price,\u201d he continued. According to this analyst\u2019s calculations, wind energy can be sold at around Rs. 12 a unit.<\/p>\n

Mannar is one of the best sites for wind power, as confirmed by a 2011-2013 study funded by the Asian Development Bank. Turbines there are likely to generate electricity for 38 per cent of every year. In comparison, Puttalam has an annual capacity factor of 32 per cent and Hambantota 17 per cent. Both locations already have wind turbines, with independent producers selling a unit of electricity to the CEB at a fixed price of Rs. 22.<\/p>\n

COURTESY:Sunday Times<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Namini Wijedasa A proposal to distribute lucrative wind power contracts to local investors without calling for open tenders has run into a storm with energy experts strongly criticising the move. They fear the contracts will be dished out to political henchmen \u2014 a growing practice \u2014 and that, under existing terms and conditions, the …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Is Govt Planning to Hand Out Lucrative Wind Power Contracts to Political Henchmen By not calling for Open Tenders to set up Mannar Wind energy Park?’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30632"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30633,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30632\/revisions\/30633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}