Sri Lanka will be able to meet 100% of its energy demand through renewable sources by 2050.
That’s according to a new report from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which predicts the country’s installed electricity generation capacity will increase from around 3.7GW to 34GW over the period.
Of this, 15GW is expected to be wind energy and about 16GW would come from solar, with hydro and biomass plants providing extra capacity to help balance the grid.
The researchers expect the transition from fossil fuels to clean power sources will reduce Sri Lanka’s fuel import bill by a total of $18 billion (£14bn) and have a range of other financial benefits.
However, the final investment is expected to total around $50 billion (£38.8bn).
The nation adopted the ambitious voluntary goal at the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh a year after signing the Paris Agreement, along with 42 other countries.
Priyantha Wijayatunga, Director of ADB’s South Asia Energy Division, said: “ADB has expressed its continuous support to low carbon development of Sri Lanka.
“Recent proposals including a rooftop solar programme and a large-scale wind power project demonstrate ADB’s commitment in this regard. This assessment report can serve as a comprehensive example for future utilities globally on how decentralised clean energy services can be governed.”