Sri Lanka is celebrating a 100MW, USD 140 million solar park as the “largest renewable project in history.” The truth is, this is not a mega project. Globally, countries like China, India, and Vietnam commission gigawatt-scale renewable parks every year. For us to call 100MW a milestone only shows how low the bar has been set.
More importantly, USD 140 million is not big money. Our own Treasury, state banks, or the Ceylon Electricity Board could finance it with bonds or a renewable trust fund. Sri Lanka has the capacity, the engineers, and the capital to deliver projects of this scale. What is missing is not ability it is political will.
Instead of building capacity, the government chooses the easy way out: invite foreign partners, package it as “FDI,” and call it progress. But foreign players do not come without agendas. Energy is one of the main entry points for geopolitical influence.
The United States entered through LNG with New Fortress Energy. India pushes solar grids, Trincomalee oil tanks, and cross-border transmission. China dominates coal and hydro. Russia leverages oil and fertiliser. Israel positions itself in digital energy and defense-linked systems. Each move is designed to tie Sri Lanka into long-term dependence on their infrastructure and supply chains.
This is why a small solar park gets exaggerated as a landmark. It is not about energy independence it is about keeping the foreign doorway open. Our leaders avoid the harder, sovereign path that demands accountability and long-term planning. They take the short cut, claim victory, and trade away strategic autonomy for convenience and personal gain.
Sri Lanka is not helpless. The options to fund and build our own energy future exist. What is broken is the political courage to take those options. Until that changes, even “small” projects will continue to be dressed up as historic while quietly handing our sovereignty to outside powers.
Jihan Hameed
THE NATIONALIST 
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