Imported sustainability: Rethinking Sri Lanka’s paradoxical wind energy ambitions

Why has the country’s wind potential remained so underutilised that it still accounts for just 1% even in 2025?

It is clear that something is seriously lacking in Sri Lanka’s approach to achieving the noble goal of sustainability. The missing element is our inability to develop indigenous wind turbine technology that would expand local expertise and increase domestic content. It is a matter of real concern that, even more than three decades after the country first embraced wind power, our progress in establishing this critical technology has been unusually slow remaining limited to operations and routine maintenance even as of 2025

I seriously doubt Sri Lanka has ever missed embracing any “lofty international goal” in its policy documents. The energy policies are no exception. The Sri Lanka National Energy Policy and Strategies of 2019 might be the most internationally aligned energy policy the country has ever had, endorsing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Carbon Neutrality by 2050. 

This nicely written document aims to ensure clean and affordable energy, specifically following Goal 7 of the SDGs. Moreover, it claims to be founded on 10 pillars to achieve a balance in the so-called Energy Trilemma: energy security, environmental sustainability, and energy equity. I do not think anyone could imagine any missing aspect within those 10 pillars for achieving this delicate balance. And of course, the policy document lays out its implementation strategies and the results delivery framework brilliantly, and again, it is hard to imagine if anyone could spot a gap there. 

Complying with the aforementioned document, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), as the premier electricity utility in the country, recently introduced its Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan for the period 2025–2044. This plan has been routinely prepared by the CEB every two years, covering a 20-year horizon. Keeping Carbon Neutrality by 2050 as the prime target, the report proposes the “aggressive development” of the renewable energy sector. According to the report, approximately 2.6 GW of wind power and nearly 9 GW of solar power will be added to the grid to maintain a 70% renewable energy share in meeting demand by 2044. This addition is undoubtedly both highly ambitious and unprecedented. As part of the Energy Policy, this “extraordinary move” certainly demonstrates our strong commitment to align with international goals. 

The dilemma in the trilemma: Concerning the balance

However, it becomes inevitable to ask a foundational question: What kind of balance in the energy trilemma or in the noble goal of sustainability, are we actually achieving by increasing the share of renewable energy in such an aggressive manner, as even acknowledged in the report itself? The focus is clearly on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but what about energy security and equity or affordability, the other objectives? Before answering this question, it is worth being informed of some basic facts.

Since this discussion focuses on the wind energy sector, it is important to recognise that currently only about 260 MW, just around 1% of the country’s ~20 GW of total onshore capacity, is being harnessed. We have been talking about integrating wind power since the early 1990s, with the first large-scale wind plant established in the early 2000s. So why has the country’s wind potential remained so underutilised that it still accounts for just 1% even in 2025?

The answer becomes clearer when we examine the level of local content and value addition possible in the sector. How much local capacity exists at each stage: design, development, manufacturing, installation, operation, and maintenance? Unfortunately, that local contribution remains significantly limited, apart from some aspects of logistics, labour, operation, and routine maintenance. This indicates that the technology still remains largely foreign to us. It inevitably leads to a significant reliance on foreign expertise and technology, making the effort financially challenging as well. In this context, the sector is now being pushed toward aggressive wind energy development, aiming for a tenfold expansion within 20 years.

Now our earlier foundational question evolves into an existential inquiry: Is our path to achieving sustainability itself sustainable? Are we not chasing after an “Imported Sustainability”? If we continue to rely heavily on foreign expertise and technology, can we truly maintain a balance in the Energy Trilemma? What will become of our energy security or affordability? Are the lofty commitments in policy documents truly backed by substance, or are we merely swapping fossil fuels for renewables without addressing the deeper meaning of the concepts?

Certainly, we are in a paradox now.

Fixing the paradox: Inevitable indigenisation

It is clear that something is seriously lacking in Sri Lanka’s approach to achieving the noble goal of sustainability. The missing element is our inability to develop indigenous wind turbine technology that would expand local expertise and increase domestic content. It is a matter of real concern that, even more than three decades after the country first embraced wind power, our progress in establishing this critical technology has been unusually slow remaining limited to operations and routine maintenance even as of 2025.

How does the situation compare with that of our neighbour, India? India recognised the importance of the wind energy sector in its policies probably a decade before we did. However, its progress in developing a local wind turbine ecosystem has been exemplary, demonstrating both vision and commitment qualities that remain seriously lacking on our side.

This year is particularly significant for the Indian wind energy sector, as the Government has mandated the use of locally manufactured components, with turbine developers expecting a boom in domestic manufacturing and strengthened energy security. It is no secret that India’s status as the world’s fourth-largest wind power producer is directly linked to its robust domestic manufacturing capabilities. While India currently harnesses around 15% of its total onshore wind energy potential, we remain at just about 1%.

Even from a neoliberal perspective, the call for indigenising the wind energy sector cannot be dismissed as mere protectionism, given the unique nature of the industry. In fact, it was a World Bank report that called for an improved local supply chain to ensure the success of Sri Lanka’s wind energy sector. International experience shows that unlike in the solar energy sector achieving around 70% local content in wind technology is relatively straightforward with proper planning.

A humble but powerful beginning: Promoting small wind turbine technologies

Recognising and admitting that, as a country, our approach to wind turbine technology critically lacks a drive for indigenisation, what steps can we take to address this? Although this may sound controversial to some, I argue that this lack reflects a deeper aspect of our national character how we have historically engaged with science and technology since colonial times. Admitting that deeply rooted problems hardly have quick or obvious solutions, what meaningful initiatives can we undertake as a country at this moment?

Any proposals must be grounded in Sri Lanka’s unique context; otherwise, they risk being impractical or unrealistic. In terms of global trends, the wind energy sector is now moving toward large-scale offshore turbine installations, which demand sophisticated technology, advanced logistics, and substantial capital investment. The countries leading in this field have already developed mature onshore wind technology, an area where we have yet to make any significant progress.

Even in this advanced context, it is notable that regions with well-established large-scale turbine industries continue to support small-scale wind technologies. Typically defined as having a rated power between 1 kW and 50 kW, these systems are suitable for a wide range of users from households and hotels to farms and industries. Strong support for small wind is evident in policy frameworks across the United States, Europe, China, and even India, where various incentive programs promote this technology. Among the most common are feed-in tariffs, net metering, and capital grants.

Interestingly, why are these countries incentivising a technology that makes only a modest contribution to total electricity generation? The reasons often cited include promoting distributed energy systems to strengthen grid resilience, advancing rural electrification, boosting domestic manufacturing, enabling public participation in clean energy, supporting climate change mitigation, reducing energy costs, encouraging innovation, lowering air pollution, enabling hybrid renewable systems, and fostering social acceptance through community-based projects.

Are any of these goals irrelevant to the Sri Lankan context? Certainly not. This is a significant oversight on the part of Sri Lankan authorities and policymakers, whose focus has been narrowly limited to total energy output rather than the broader benefits and strategic objectives of small wind technologies. At a time when we are exploring the potential for indigenising the wind energy sector, how can we neglect the golden opportunity that small wind technologies offer for strengthening local manufacturing and encouraging local innovations?

Unlike its large-scale counterpart, small wind technology is still an emerging field with substantial scope for innovation. It is widely accepted that its economic viability improves as the technology advances. With the right policy support and incentives, developing domestic capabilities for the design, development, and fabrication of small wind turbines is well within the reach of Sri Lanka’s current industrial capacity. Achieving a local content share of 60–70% would be entirely feasible. What is needed now is a clear focus on aligning these existing capabilities to realise this important technological goal. The resulting economic benefits including new industry creation and expansion of the job market would be invaluable to the country.

One of the critical challenges in harnessing Sri Lanka’s onshore wind potential is that nearly 35% of it lies in the Central Province, where deploying large-scale wind farms is difficult due to rugged terrain and logistical constraints. So, what is our strategy to tap into this vast resource, estimated at nearly 7 GW? There are international examples where small wind turbine technologies have been successfully deployed in hilly terrain. Given the country’s growing energy demand, it is reasonable to expect that an indigenous small-scale wind turbine industry could make a significant impact both by unlocking this vast potential and by contributing meaningfully to Sri Lanka’s total electricity generation.

A hub for local innovations: Building a National Wind Institute 

On the path to true indigenisation, there is an urgent need for dedicated institutions focused on this goal. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka currently lacks a specialised research and development centre for wind energy technologies. The National Energy Policy of 2019 assigns wind energy the second highest priority, recognising its strategic importance to the country’s energy sector. As highlighted in the recent CEB report, an ambitious expansion of wind energy is planned for the near future. Establishing a dedicated National Wind Institute is therefore fully justified. Moreover, the same energy policy identifies innovation as its tenth pillar, however, opportunities for applying local innovations in the wind energy sector remain extremely limited. It is a serious drawback as we do not have a proper institution to direct our local brilliant minds for this very essential technology of the country. This gap has led to a critical shortage of the technical expertise and intellectual capital needed to develop local technologies, which are essential for genuine indigenisation.

Any new institute must be founded with a fresh perspective and operate with real autonomy, while remaining accountable to its Government mandate. The reality is that the existing institutional framework has failed to make meaningful progress toward indigenisation, highlighting the need for a separate institute designed and structured in a fundamentally different way. Although there have been attempts to pursue domestic development by hiring foreign experts in the past, these efforts have not produced any substantial results. This clearly highlights the need for dedicated institutions and teams to cultivate and advance wind technology locally. Only with a strong, homegrown drive can effectively utilise foreign expertise at the right moments.

Finally, we now have a Government that has promised to deliver social, cultural, and economic revival, captured in its central political slogan, ‘Punarudaya’. I would like to believe that the architects of this vision truly understand its deeper meaning and the implications. Achieving genuine revival requires fresh perspectives, courage, and bold actions. I hope this write-up offers some insight to help guide a meaningful revival in Sri Lanka’s wind energy development.

(The writer is Senior Lecturer at Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa.)