UN plan sets out how Sri Lanka could move to 100% renewables
Sri Lanka’s electricity generation capacity needs will increase from 3,700 MW to 34,000 MW by 2050, according to a report by the UN Development Programme and Asian Development Bank. The study looked at how the country could produce 100% of its electricity using renewable methods, adding that it was "crucial to increase electricity storage capacity". The move to 100% renewable energy would reduce the country's cumulative fuel bill by $18bn, with $50bn of investment needed for the country to make the transition to renewable energy. Sri Lanka is a member of Climate Vulnerable Forum whose members are committed to adopting renewables-only energy production.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) just released a joint report called Assessment of Sri Lanka’s Power Sector—100 percent Electricity Generation through Renewable Energy by 2050.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) just released a joint report called Assessment of Sri Lanka’s Power Sector—100 percent Electricity Generation through Renewable Energy by 2050.

Priyantha Wijayatunga, Director, South Asia Energy Division, said: “ADB has expressed its continuous support to low-carbon development of Sri Lanka. Recent proposals including a rooftop solar program and a large-scale wind power project demonstrate ADB’s commitment in this regard. This assessment report can serve as a comprehensive example for future utilities globally on how decentralized clean energy services can be governed.”

According to the report, Sri Lanka’s installed electricity generation capacity needs will increase from 3,700MW to 34,000MW by 2050.

The study projects that most of the electricity generation capacity should be wind and solar energy – with 15,000 MW of wind and 16,000 MW of solar capacity – and the rest will be hydro and biomass energy.

In order to ensure the stability of the country’s electricity grid, UNDP and ADB also note that it will be crucial to increase electricity storage capacity.

Such a shift to renewable sources would allow the country to dramatically decrease its fossil fuel imports and reduce Sri Lanka’s fuel bill by $18 billion cumulatively.

$50 billion of investment will be needed for the country to operate its transition to renewable energy.

Sri Lanka is one of 43 members of the Climate Vulnerable Forum who committed to produce 100 per cent of their electricity through renewables by 2050 last year at the Marrakesh COP negotiations.

Alexandra Soezer, Climate Change Technical Advisor of UNDP added: “UNDP continues to be a pioneering ‘development’ institute. Knowledge products like these are giving valuable inputs to attaining Sustainable Development Goal 7 on ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’. We will continue to expand our activities in this field and pave the way for a better tomorrow.”