As Sri Lanka seeks to live in harmony with nature, the transition to renewable energy has become a cornerstone of its efforts to build a sustainable green economy. Sri Lanka has been heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels, particularly petroleum, and we have faced vulnerabilities, such as fluctuating global oil prices and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
So, it is a prime need of the energy sector to find ways to rid these burdens. In this backdrop, diversifying the energy sources has become essential for achieving energy security, economic stability and environmental protection, where renewable energy becomes a key attribute.
Transitioning to renewable energy offers numerous benefits for Sri Lanka as a country highly dependent on energy imports, yet heirs with ample renewable energy sources to meet the energy needs.
Benefits of renewable energy
Sri Lanka has set ambitious targets to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix, aiming at realising 70% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality in the energy sector by 2050.
The government has initiated policies to support the growth of renewable energy technologies, including solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass. It enhances energy security by reducing Sri Lanka’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, stabilising the economy against global oil price volatility while ensuring a more reliable and sustainable energy supply.
Renewable energy sources produce minimal greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to environmental protection and climate change mitigation. Moreover, the renewable energy sector presents significant economic opportunities, creating jobs in installation, maintenance and technology development, while stimulating local economies and fostering innovation.
Importantly, renewable energy technologies can enhance energy access, particularly in rural areas, by enabling decentralised energy systems that reduce reliance on centralised energy systems. With the decentralisation of energy systems, economic activities can be decentralised, directly contributing to the upliftment of rural economy.
Challenges in energy transition
Despite the clear benefits, Sri Lanka faces several challenges in its transition to renewable energy. The inherent intermittencies of solar and wind energy lead to variability in electricity generation.
Solar power production is limited to daylight hours, while wind energy is seasonal. Both these sources are influenced by local weather patterns, creating unpredictability that can strain the electricity grid.
So, the existing energy infrastructure requires significant upgrades to accommodate a higher share of renewable energy sources, and modernising the grid to integrate decentralised energy generation and improving reliability is essential for a successful transition.
Furthermore, efficient energy storage solutions are critical for managing the variability of renewable energy sources. Without adequate storage, excess energy generated during peak production times may be wasted, while periods of low generation could lead to supply shortages.
Energy storage and grid management solutions
As Sri Lanka increases its share of renewable energy in the energy mix in electricity generation, advancements in energy storage solutions become critical.
Lithium-ion batteries are currently the dominant technology, known for their high energy density and declining costs. Emerging technologies, like flow batteries and solid-state batteries, offer scalable and long-lasting solutions, addressing the challenges of renewable energy intermittency.
Pumped hydro storage also presents opportunities for large-scale energy storage, leveraging Sri Lanka’s natural topography to enhance the grid stability. The future energy landscape in Sri Lanka is likely to feature decentralised systems, such as micro-grids, that integrate solar PV, wind turbines and biomass generation. These systems can enhance energy resilience, particularly in rural areas, allowing for localised generation and consumption of energy.
Furthermore, the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) will significantly impact the renewable energy sector. As EV adoption accelerates, the demand for renewable energy to power these vehicles will grow, necessitating the establishment of EV charging networks powered by renewables to minimise the carbon footprint of transportation. A technological significance of EVs in context of the enhancing renewable energy is, EVs can act as a means of storage.
Demand management, smart grid and demand response
As the integration of renewable energy needs additional investments in storage and grid infrastructure, it essentially requires optimising the generation requirements through demand management.
So, starting with low-hanging fruits of trivial conservation measures, demand management can go for advanced technologies in industrial and commercial sectors, while introducing standard approaches for energy management, such as ISO 50001.
High technological support for demand management can be obtained through smart grid technology equipped with demand response. While contributing as an advanced technological platform for energy management, a smart grid uses digital tools to enhance the efficiency and reliability of electricity distribution, seamlessly integrating variable renewable sources like solar and wind.
Smart metres and sensors allow for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and faster response to outages, reducing energy losses. Data from short-term forecasting systems amalgamated with sound ICT infrastructure will lead to minimise the cost on additional reserve margin capacities, which would otherwise be a burden on economy.
Simultaneously, demand response strategies encourage consumers to adjust their electricity usage based on supply conditions, balancing demand and facilitating the integration of intermittent renewable sources. This helps to lower peak demand, reduce energy costs, and ensure a stable power supply.
Technological advancements in renewable energy
As far as the latest technological updates in renewable energy are concerned, bifacial solar panels can increase energy production by up to 30% through the albedo effect, due to the capture of sunlight from both the sides.
High-efficiency monocrystalline panels, exceeding 22% efficiency, further reduce energy loss and maximise the output. As securing lands is becoming a critical constraint for large-scale solar power projects, agro-voltaics is identified to be a propping up technology in different parts of the world, and Sri Lanka has already taken initiatives in the particular area.
Further, floating solar power is also a new intervention that Sri Lanka has recently introduced, which augments to be a suitable technology in view of the large reservoir areas in the country.
While the harnessing of solar power through photo-voltaic (PV) technology assures of these welcoming trends, electricity generation through solar heat using ‘concentrated solar power’ (CSP) systems is also gathering substantial momentum. When combined with thermal energy storage solutions like molten salt, CSP can provide dispatchable power, ensuring a consistent energy supply during cloudy periods.
Wind energy developments are also key to Sri Lanka’s renewable energy future. Offshore wind energy is emerging as a transformative resource, capable of harnessing stronger winds minimising the effects of turbulence.
Floating wind turbine technology enables installations in deeper waters, expanding the potential for wind energy generation. Moreover, smart wind turbines, equipped with advanced sensors and data analytics, facilitate predictive maintenance, optimising the performance in grid management and reducing downtime.
A holistic solution in par with SDGs
A key issue that has been identified globally in the present development process is, different sectors work in silos, and high global attention is focused on integrated development approaches, which are vividly ascribed by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) introduced by the United Nations, where balanced economic growth is focused promoting environmental sustainability and social equity.
In this context, renewable energy development becomes a forefront technology in the development agenda of the countries like Sri Lanka.
By investing in renewable energy, Sri Lanka can address SDG 1: No Poverty by creating jobs, fostering economic opportunities, and providing affordable energy access, particularly benefiting rural and low-income communities.
Cleaner and cheaper energy from renewables reduces household expenses and improves public health by cutting pollution, aligning with SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.
Expanding renewable energy capacity and improving energy efficiency directly supports SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, ensuring access to sustainable energy and decreasing dependency on fossil fuels.
This shift furthers SDG 13: Climate Action by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening resilience to climate impacts.
Investments in renewable infrastructure generate new economic avenues, particularly in rural areas, advancing SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and spurring innovation and sustainable industrialisation, in line with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
Prioritising clean energy also tackles pollution, positively impacting health outcomes for low-income communities supporting SDG 3. Advanced technologies like smart grids and demand-side response boost energy efficiency, reducing the environmental footprint aligning with SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
Overall, Sri Lanka’s renewable energy journey not only addresses environmental sustainability, but also contributes to poverty reduction, economic development and a more inclusive and resilient society, demonstrating a strong and multifaceted commitment to the SDGs.
Investment constraints and access to green finances
While technological advancements can provide ample solutions for addressing the constraints of renewable energy, the development process is hindered on account of the investment needs. Developing countries, including Sri Lanka, account for just a small fraction of the global outstanding green loans, indicating a significant gap between the investment needs and the available financial support for nature-positive growth.
To mitigate these challenges, it is imperative for Sri Lanka to pursue macro-economic reforms and innovative financing mechanisms that align with its climate and debt management goals.
Enhanced collaboration with international financial institutions and development partners can play a pivotal role in overcoming these obstacles, paving the way for increased investment in renewable energy projects.
Sri Lanka also faces several significant barriers in accessing international green finance markets. The slow pace of the country’s debt restructuring process and its overall country rating deter foreign investors, especially for climate action initiatives.
Furthermore, uncertainties surrounding policy stability, the sanctity of contracts and the assurance of demand growth pose additional risks, making it difficult to attract funding for green projects.
As Sri Lanka is a party to the international climate abatement treaties, the country is responsible for realising emission reduction in key economic sectors, through the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that have been declared under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In alignment with this, there is a growing enthusiasm in green finance among Sri Lankan policymakers, regulators and financial intermediaries. Initial steps have been taken to orient toward green lending; however, the actual implementation is still in its early stages.
Critical issues that the financial sector must navigate include providing adequate support for investments aimed at a climate-resilient and nature-positive economic recovery.
In this line, Sri Lanka has made strides with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). One specific milestone is the Green Bond Framework, which has been recently approved by the Ministry of Finance.
In conclusion, Sri Lanka is on the brink of a significant transformation, and by harnessing advanced solar and wind technologies, investing in energy storage solutions, garnering community engagement and leveraging green funding, the country is positioning itself to achieve a sustainable and resilient energy future.
(The writer is an Engineer and Assistant Engineering Director at the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority)
----------------------
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.)