Sri Lanka needs to establish a clear legal and regulatory framework to attract private-sector investment in offshore wind energy, while addressing environmental concerns before moving ahead with development, British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick said on Friday (16).
Speaking on Ada Derana’s Hyde Park programme, Patrick said: “The United Kingdom (UK) had been supporting the Sri Lankan Government in identifying opportunities in offshore wind energy and understanding the regulatory measures needed to develop the sector, and inviting tenders to exploit offshore wind projects.”
Patrick added: “A World Bank report sponsored by the UK about three years ago had estimated Sri Lanka’s offshore wind potential at 50 gigawatts (GW), which is about ten times the amount of energy that Sri Lanka actually needs, which is a huge potential.”
The World Bank’s Offshore Wind Roadmap for Sri Lanka, published in August 2023, identified offshore wind as a potential source of domestic electricity that could strengthen energy security and help reduce the economic burden of fossil fuel imports. The Government has set a target of generating 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Explaining the UK’s approach, he said: “The UK’s approach to offshore wind development relied on private-sector investment, with companies developing offshore wind farms under arrangements that provide an appropriate return to the government.”
Patrick said: “Sri Lanka was not yet ready to move ahead with offshore wind development, and any decision to proceed would depend on the relative costs of different energy sources.”
He said: “Sri Lanka should prepare for the opportunity so that development could move forward if offshore wind became economically viable.”
“Despite the potential, there are all sorts of issues with offshore wind, affecting people's fishing ability, wildlife, and so forth. So there are important environmental considerations that the country needs to put in place as well,” he said.
Patrick also highlighted the potential economic benefits of connecting Sri Lanka’s electricity network with India, saying the arrangement could allow the country to import or export power depending on energy supply conditions.
“Sri Lanka already has a very significant hydropower component in its energy mix, which is positive. But the country needs to diversify its sources of energy. From an economic point of view, connecting the electricity networks with India could create opportunities to export and import electricity, depending on the availability of different energy sources,” he said.