Sri Lanka urged to accelerate renewable energy transition

Sri Lanka must accelerate investment in renewable energy, energy storage and grid modernisation to meet the rising electricity demand and reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said.

“With the electricity demand expected to increase alongside digitalisation, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and data centres,” the country must modernise its power infrastructure using intelligent grids and emerging technologies, the chamber said in a statement.

The recommendations emerged from the chamber’s recent forum, ‘Energy Transition in Sri Lanka: Strategic Insights from Global Markets’, which brought together the stakeholders from the government, industry, academia and energy sector.

Solar power was identified as a priority area for expansion. The chamber said predictable purchasing tariffs, effective procurement mechanisms and greater development of distributed renewable energy would be needed to attract private investment, strengthen grid stability and reduce transmission losses.

However, renewable-energy deployment continues to be slowed by inconsistent policies, lengthy approval procedures, land-acquisition difficulties, grid constraints and project delays.

The chamber called for a stable policy environment, streamlined regulation and stronger coordination among the state institutions to improve investor confidence and accelerate project delivery.

Energy-storage systems were also identified as critical to integrating more renewable power into the national grid. Such systems can store surplus electricity generated by solar and wind projects and release it when production falls or demand rises.

The chamber said Sri Lanka required clear technical and safety standards, appropriate financing mechanisms and viable market structures to encourage investment in energy storage and solar-plus-storage projects.

The net-metering and feed-in arrangements could also encourage factories and other commercial users to adopt solar power by allowing them to sell surplus electricity to the grid, it said.

Financing remains another obstacle. The stakeholders called for improved access to funding, more bankable project structures and timely payments to renewable energy developers to support continued private sector participation.

The chamber also stressed the need for greater collaboration between industry and academia, expanded technical training and stronger local expertise in renewable energy and storage technologies.

Achieving Sri Lanka’s renewable energy ambitions would require coordinated action across policy, regulation, financing and infrastructure development, the chamber said.