Strengthening Sri Lanka's GREAT 2025-2030 Renewable Energy Project Development Plan: Bridging gaps for a sustainable future

THE GREAT 2025-2030 Renewable Energy Project Development Plan approved by the Cabinet on February 2, 2026, aims to guide Sri Lanka toward a cleaner energy future, aligning with global decarbonisation efforts.

- By Dr. Anil Cabraal

However, significant gaps between its goals and the country's institutional, infrastructural, policy, and financial capacities raise questions about its feasibility within the proposed timeframe.Although dated December 2024, the plan received Cabinet approval only recently. The Ministry stated it was drafted by a committee from the CEB and SLSEA under the Energy Ministry Secretary. It is uncertain if other stakeholders, such as other Government agencies, the regulator, private sector participants, renewable energy industry, financial institutions, environmental organisations, or consumer representatives were consulted. It raises concerns about stakeholder support needed to achieve the plan's goals.

Transmission bottlenecks and sequencing risks

At the heart of the plan's limitations is its heavy reliance on transmission infrastructure that does not yet exist. The plan correctly identifies transmission as the single most critical bottleneck to large scale renewable energy integration. It assumes that a suite of large, complex, and capital intensive transmission projects will be completed on an accelerated schedule. Many of these projects remain unfunded, are in early conceptual stages, or depend on external lenders whose timelines are uncertain.

The plan front loads renewable energy additions between 2025 and 2028 while back loading transmission readiness to 2028-2033. This sequencing mismatch creates a structural vulnerability. Renewable plants may be built before the grid can absorb their output, leading to curtailment, stranded assets, and investor frustration. Sri Lanka's historical record of transmission delays only heightens the concern that the plan's timelines are more aspirational than realistic.

Operational and policy gaps in rooftop solar integration