Sri Lanka-based renewable energy developer WindForce has secured a letter of award from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to set up 12 standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects with a cumulative capacity of 120 MW/480 MWh under a build, own, and operate model.

The energy storage projects are part of Sri Lanka’s first grid-scale standalone BESS initiative, launched by CEB to enhance grid stability and support greater renewable energy integration.

The storage projects involve an investment of LKR20.79 billion (~$66.53 million) and operate over a 15‑year contract period. The project financing is expected to follow an 80:20 debt-to-equity structure.

Eleven of the 12 projects will be fully owned and developed by WindForce, while one project at the town of Vavunathivu will be developed through a consortium between WindForce and renewable energy solutions provider Vidullanka.

In December, Sri Lanka’s Trincomalee Power Company, a 50:50 joint venture between CEB and India’s NTPC, issued an engineering, procurement, and construction tender for a 50 MW (Phase I) ground-mounted solar photovoltaic power project, along with an energy storage project, at Sampoor in the Trincomalee region. The storage project would have a minimum capacity of 20 MW/20 MWh.

In August, CEB issued an international competitive bidding tender for the development of 160 MW/640 MWh standalone BESS.

Battery storage deployment has grown exponentially, with global installations increasing more than twentyfold in storage capacity over the past five years.  The cost of battery storage projects reached all-time lows in 2025, with the global benchmark cost for a four-hour battery project falling 27% year-over-year to $78/MWh, according to a BloombergNEF report. It said that the levelized cost of energy LCOE for a four-hour energy storage system stood below $100/MWh in six markets. Lower battery pack prices, increased competition among manufacturers, and improved system designs contributed to the rapid decline in battery storage projects.