Listed energy firm Vidullanka has agreed to acquire a 49 percent equity stake in Storex (Pvt) Ltd for approximately Rs. 2 billion, the company said in a market filing on Thursday. WindForce will retain the remaining 51 percent.
The investment gives Vidullanka entry into a portfolio of 12 battery energy storage system (BESS) projects, each with a capacity of 10 MW / 40 MWh, awarded by the Ceylon Electricity Board to WindForce. The 12 sites awarded directly to WindForce PLC are being developed through Storex.
Vidullanka and WindForce will also together hold a separately structured 10 MW / 40 MWh BESS project at Vavunathivu, which continues to be developed under the existing consortium arrangement rather than rolled into Storex.
Storex has already secured all regulatory approvals and achieved financial closure for the 12 grid-scale plants, the company said. The agreement was executed through a share sale and purchase agreement and a shareholders’ agreement.
The Rs. 2 billion buy-in cements Vidullanka’s pivot into utility-scale storage alongside its existing mini-hydro book. The transaction follows WindForce’s announced $18 million IFC facility for the Siyambalanduwa battery project and a Fitch ‘A(lka)’ rating on its debenture that signalled lender appetite for the BESS rollout. For Vidullanka, it extends the diversification track first opened in its acquisition of Bhoruka Power Lanka’s mini-hydro portfolio.
The 12 BESS plants form the core of Sri Lanka’s 300 MW / 600 MWh battery storage build-out that the government has targeted for grid integration by year-end, building on the broader grid stabilisation programme outlined by Power Minister Karunathilaka and the 150 MW Kondachchi wind-plus-BESS hybrid approved with ADB backing.
