November 09, Colombo (LNW): The recent National Electricity Plan released by India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) announces a significant development in regional energy collaboration. 

India and Sri Lanka have agreed on the detailed project report (DPR) for constructing a transmission line that will link their power grids, marking a major milestone in a project that has been in the works for over two decades.

The India-Sri Lanka interconnection, which will feature a 1000 MW Voltage Source Converter High Voltage Direct Current (VSC HVDC) bipole line, will connect the Indian city of New Madurai with Sri Lanka’s Mannar.

The project will be executed in two phases, each with a 500 MW capacity. This long-awaited initiative first surfaced in 2002, and despite a series of feasibility studies, it had been put on hold by 2011 due to concerns over its viability. 

However, the revival of the project in recent years has been largely driven by the global surge in renewable energy and Sri Lanka’s wind potential.

India’s commitment to the “One Sun, One Grid, One World” vision, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has further reinforced the importance of this interconnection. 

This initiative aims to create a global grid that facilitates the exchange of renewable energy, and Sri Lanka’s potential 65 GW of onshore wind power has made the project particularly appealing. 

The wind energy, much of which can be exported to India, is considered a more cost-effective alternative to offshore wind energy in India.

In 2019, both countries agreed to proceed with the DPR for the interconnection project. In 2022, PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a new feasibility study, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which focused on the construction of an undersea cable linking New Madurai in India with New Habarana in Sri Lanka, crossing 120 km of sea. 

The cost of laying 40 km of undersea cable is estimated at $694 million (₹5,800 crore), and the overall project is projected to cost ₹9,900 crore.

Sri Lanka’s government has prioritized energy regional integration, and the grid link is expected to be operational by 2030. The World Bank has been supporting Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) in exploring technical and business models for the project.

 In addition, Sri Lanka and India signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in 2023 to cooperate on renewable energy, including the development of an energy hub in Trincomalee.

This grid interconnection project builds on earlier discussions dating back to the 1970s and has received renewed focus since 2002, with support from USAID and the Power Grid Corporation of India. 

The updated feasibility studies suggest that a 500 MW short-term link could be established initially, with the potential to scale to 1000 MW in the medium to long term.