Sri Lanka (Commonwealth) _ For Rs. 6.5 billion, Liege Capital Holdings successfully completed the second wind power securitization for the Ceylex Renewables Mannar project, dubbed “Windscape Mannar.” This is a significant milestone for Sri Lanka’s renewable energy industry.
As the lead banker and trustee of this historic deal, the National Savings Bank (NSB) was joined by Commercial Bank of Ceylon as a co-investing bank.
The project Windscape Mannar, which aims to use Mannar’s wind potential to sustainably meet Sri Lanka’s expanding energy needs, has raised a substantial amount of money thanks to the securitization.
“As the Lead Banker and Trustee of this transaction, we are proud to support a trailblazing project that aligns with Sri Lanka’s renewable energy goals,” stated NSB CEO Shashi Kandamby. National Savings Bank is steadfast in its commitment to supporting environmentally friendly and energy-independent finance options for our country.
“This partnership shows the strength and positive effects of banking partnerships when dealing with the financing needs of Sri Lanka’s energy transition,” stated Sanath Manatunge, managing director and CEO of Commercial Bank. It is an honor for Commercial Bank to be a key co-investor in a project that establishes standards for financing renewable energy in the future.
“Windscape Mannar is a testament to our commitment to innovation and sustainability,” stated Sameera Ganegoda, CEO of Ceylex Renewables. We are honored to guide Sri Lanka toward a more environmentally friendly energy future with the help of NSB, Commercial Bank, and Liege Capital Holdings.
“This transaction demonstrates how creative financing can unlock the potential of renewable energy projects in Sri Lanka,” stated Maduranga Jayasundara, CEO of Liege Capital Holdings. We’re laying the groundwork for future expansion in the industry by designing scalable solutions like securitizations.
The successful securitization of Windscape Mannar marks a significant turning point in Sri Lanka’s renewable energy landscape. By encouraging investments in clean energy projects and demonstrating the potential of structured solutions in furthering the nation’s sustainability goals, it establishes a solid precedent for creative finance.
In an ongoing effort to assess Sri Lanka’s wind energy potential and promote wind energy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The NREL wind atlas for Sri Lanka has been completed thus far. Additionally, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has successfully finished and is currently running a 3-MW pilot wind project in addition to conducting an assessment of the wind resources in various regions of the nation.
An analysis of the work done so far shows that further effort is required to give Sri Lanka the resources it needs to find the best wind energy development options. Important legislative, regulatory, commercial, and infrastructure concerns that impact the growth of wind energy must also be identified, and actions to promote and support wind power investment and development must be suggested.
For these reasons, NREL hired Global Energy Concepts, LLC (GEC) to find major market barriers, make a site screening process that works in Sri Lanka, use the process in the areas with the most potential for wind resources (as found by the NREL wind atlas), and suggest pre-development activities for the development of wind projects in the near future for the most promising sites.
GEC and CEB collaborated closely to finish this project. At the recommendation of NREL and USAID staff, the work was confined to a review of Sri Lanka’s north coast and concentrated on the country’s south, west, and central regions. The ongoing civil war prevented any consideration for short-term growth opportunities in the country’s eastern and northern regions.
Although there is a lot of land available in Sri Lanka with wind resources that might be developed, the infrastructure for electricity transmission limits a possible increase in wind power capacity in the near future. According to CEB estimations, the system cannot support more wind capacity than 7% of the peak load, or about 100 MW.
Furthermore, according to CEB estimations, adding more than 20 MW of wind capacity in a particular area may have a negative effect on the stability and quality of the local grid. Infrastructure upgrades and grid-impact studies should be carried out in order to further identify and transcend these boundaries. The seasonal fluctuations in hydroelectric power are not well suited to Sri Lanka’s intra-annual wind resource.
Because the highest winds occur during the rainy seasons, it is impossible to predict that wind power will significantly help alleviate capacity issues during the dry seasons.