After the Blackouts: How Sri Lanka Is Testing a New Model for Clean Energy Growth

Sri Lanka is rebuilding its crisis-hit power sector by pairing ambitious renewable energy reforms with practical innovations, from solar panels above tea plantations to smart grid research in universities. These pilot projects show how clean energy can strengthen energy security, protect livelihoods, and lay the groundwork for a more resilient future.

Sri Lanka’s energy transition is being rewritten in unlikely places: tea plantations in the central highlands and engineering laboratories in Colombo. Researchers from the University of Moratuwa and the University of Peradeniya, working with the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, the Tea Smallholding Development Authority, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), are testing practical solutions to rebuild a power sector shaken by crisis and chart a cleaner, more resilient future.

A Success Story That Unraveled

In 2016, Sri Lanka made history by becoming the first South Asian country to achieve full electrification. Electricity reached remote villages, transforming daily life and boosting rural economies. But the achievement hid deep problems. For years, electricity prices were kept artificially low, leaving the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board short of funds. Investment in cheaper and renewable energy lagged, while the country relied heavily on imported fuel. When global oil prices surged in 2021, the system cracked. Power cuts lasting hours became routine, businesses lost income, and households struggled as tariffs later rose to cover real costs. The energy sector became a central fault line in the country’s wider economic crisis.

Reform Under Pressure

After the crisis, the government moved quickly to stabilize the sector. A new Electricity Act was introduced, steps were taken to reform and restructure the national utility, and electricity tariffs were increased in 2023 to better reflect actual costs. These reforms were painful for consumers but aimed at restoring long-term sustainability. At the same time, Sri Lanka set an ambitious goal: to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The challenge is formidable. Land is limited, financing is tight, and managing solar and wind power, both dependent on weather, requires a much smarter grid than the one in place today.

Solar Panels Above Tea Bushes

One innovative response is unfolding in Hanthana, where Sri Lanka’s first agrivoltaic pilot project blends farming and solar power. Agrivoltaics allows the same land to produce both food and energy by installing solar panels above crops. Tea is well-suited to this approach because it grows best in partial shade. The Hanthana project features an 85-kilowatt array of semitransparent solar panels that still lets enough light reach the tea bushes. Sensors and LED grow lights help regulate conditions when clouds reduce sunlight.

Part of the system works as a small local power network, supplying nearby tea pluckers’ homes with electricity. Batteries keep power flowing during outages, and extra electricity is sold to the national grid, reducing household bills. Solar power also runs a water pump, replacing reliance on a local stream. For workers, the benefits are immediate: more reliable electricity, lower costs, cleaner water, and even shelter from sun and rain while working. Researchers from the University of Peradeniya are now studying how the system affects tea yields and quality, turning the plantation into a real-world testing ground.

Teaching the Grid to Think

While solar panels rise above tea fields, another experiment is taking shape at the University of Moratuwa. The Digital Grid Research Lab is designed to tackle one of the hardest problems of the energy transition: how to manage a power system dominated by renewable energy. Inside the lab, advanced machines can simulate the entire national grid. Researchers and students can test what happens when clouds suddenly block solar power, when equipment fails, or when demand spikes.

The lab also operates a real microgrid with solar panels, batteries, and backup generators. Its deeper goal is to build local expertise. Graduate students are developing tools that use artificial intelligence to balance supply and demand, design electricity prices that reflect real-time conditions, and remotely control appliances like air conditioners to reduce strain during peak hours. In a country where many engineers leave to work abroad, the lab is also helping to keep talent at home.

A Blueprint for the Future

Together, these pilots show how Sri Lanka can turn crisis into opportunity. The agrivoltaic project addresses land scarcity while improving rural livelihoods, and the Digital Grid Research Lab strengthens the technical backbone needed for large-scale renewable energy. Sri Lanka’s energy problems are far from solved, but these early experiments offer a clear lesson: with smart design, local research, and sustained investment, clean energy can support both economic recovery and long-term resilience. What began as a painful reckoning with power shortages may yet become the foundation of a more secure and sustainable energy future.