A coal plant that was scrapped came back to life as a solar farm. That is the story of Sampur, one of the flagship projects behind the India and Sri Lanka power partnership. This page also covers the undersea HVDC link and the talks of 7 August 2026.
Think of three questions as you read. How did a scrapped coal plant become a solar farm? What is the HVDC link? And what happened on 7 August 2026?
HVDC: High-voltage direct current.
NTPC: India’s National Thermal Power Corporation.
CEB: Ceylon Electricity Board.
TBCB: Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding.
1How did a scrapped coal plant become a solar farm?
The story begins in 2006. NTPC of India and Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Electricity Board, or CEB, signed an MoU for a 500 MW coal power plant at Sampur. Sampur lies near Trincomalee in Sri Lanka’s east.
The plan ran into years of delay. Sri Lanka scrapped the coal project in 2016, as part of a shift to cleaner energy.
But the site did not die. NTPC returned to Sampur with a new idea in 2022: solar power. The partners now run the project through Trincomalee Power Company Limited, a 50:50 joint venture of NTPC and CEB. (Source: The Island)
The solar plant is planned at 50 MW with battery storage, and could be extended to 120 MW. The tariff has been fixed at 5.97 US cents per unit. (Source: SolarQuarter)
Think it through: Why is Sampur a good example of a project that changed form?
The site, the partners and the goal stayed linked. Only the fuel changed, from coal to sun. Many stalled projects survive by changing their shape.
- Coal MoU: 2006, 500 MW.
- Coal plan scrapped: 2016.
- Solar return: 2022, NTPC and CEB.
- Company: Trincomalee Power Company Ltd, 50:50.
True or False: The Sampur project has always been a solar plant.
2What is the India–Sri Lanka HVDC link?
HVDC means high-voltage direct current. It is a way to move large amounts of power over long distances, even under the sea.
The proposed link would connect Madurai in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. It crosses the Palk Strait. (Source: Power Line)
The target is 1,000 MW in two phases. Completion is planned by 2030.
A 1,000 MW figure is a target, not today’s capacity. Exams love this difference.
- Route: Madurai to Mannar, across the Palk Strait.
- Target: 1,000 MW, two phases.
- Completion: 2030.
- Technology: HVDC.
True or False: The proposed HVDC link would connect Madurai to Mannar.
3What happened on 7 August 2026?
India’s Power Minister Manohar Lal met Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister Anura Karunathilake in New Delhi on 7 August 2026. (Source: DD India)
They reviewed progress on the HVDC interconnection and the Sampur Solar Power Project.
They also spoke of cross-border electricity trade, renewable energy, transmission infrastructure and capacity building. (Source: The Tribune)
India shared its experience with the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding framework, or TBCB. It is a public-private model for building transmission lines.
- Meeting: 7 August 2026, New Delhi.
- Ministers: Manohar Lal and Anura Karunathilake.
- India shared: the TBCB framework.
True or False: The August 2026 talks were about defence cooperation.
4What are the exam traps?
- Sampur: coal in 2006, solar from 2022.
- HVDC: 1,000 MW is a target for 2030.
- Route: Madurai to Mannar.
- TBCB = Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding.
MCQ on India-Sri Lanka Relations: From Scrapped Coal to a Solar Farm and an Undersea Link
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