Wind Power Generation in Sri Lanka

Assessing the Costs and Possibilities

At the present time 65% of Sri Lanka's electricity is generated by fossil fuels. In this situation, utilisation of renewable energy for electricity generation is very important to mitigate economic and environmental impacts. Wind energy has been identified as one of the more promising renewable energy sources that could generate electricity in Sri Lanka. However, it will be necessary to improve the quality and accessibility of renewable energy resource data before large-scale wind energy technologies can be developed locally. At present, ground wind measurements are not sufficient to accomplish a comprehensive wind resource assessment in Sri Lanka. For this reason, a high-resolution wind map has been developed by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In this article, cost of wind power generation in various parts of Sri Lanka is discussed and compared to the existing power purchasing tariff system in the country.