Sri Lankan turbine project fuels anger as fish hauls plunge

The Mannar project is a wind-power installation on a narrow strip of sand beside the gulf between Sri Lanka and India. Its first phase joined the national grid in 2020. It matters because Sri Lanka needs cheaper, cleaner electricity, yet nearby communities say the project has harmed their daily lives.

Residents blame the turbines for smaller fish catches and say their spinning shadows may drive fish away from shallow waters. They also say concrete foundations, trenches, and access roads block rainwater from draining toward the sea. In one village, flooding reportedly reaches waist height, damages homes, cattle, and crops, and makes well water undrinkable.

The Ceylon Electricity Board owns the turbines, and construction on 14 more has begun. However, the government has frozen new Mannar projects to calm opposition. Residents have filed court complaints, while officials are studying ways to reduce flooding and still pursue renewable power.

A wind turbine is a machine that captures moving air and converts its energy into electricity. Wind pushes across the blades, making them rotate. That rotation turns machinery inside the turbine, which drives a generator. The generator produces electrical power that can be sent through the grid.

The key mechanism is the transfer of energy from moving air to spinning equipment. The blades are shaped to catch the wind efficiently. Their turning motion travels through the turbine’s internal components to the generator. Unlike fuel-burning power stations, turbines do not need fuel to create electricity while operating.

The article describes turbines on Mannar’s windy coastline, where air sweeps across the gulf between Sri Lanka and India. The first 30 turbines have a combined capacity of 104 megawatts. Sri Lanka wants renewable sources, including wind, to provide 70 percent of its electricity by 2030.

Mannar’s wind project is already a substantial power installation. Its first phase consists of 30 turbines, all owned by Sri Lanka’s state utility, the Ceylon Electricity Board. Together, they can generate electricity at a combined capacity of 104 megawatts. That capacity joined the national grid in 2020.

The project is expanding, but not as quickly as originally planned. Construction has begun on another 14 turbines. A proposed third phase would have added 52 turbines and had been awarded to Indian conglomerate Adani. The government cancelled that contract in 2025 after a disagreement over the price per kilowatt-hour.

Local resistance has also affected future development. The government froze new Mannar projects to ease opposition, while promising that already approved projects would continue. The scale shows why Mannar matters nationally, but the conflict shows that new generating capacity can face serious community resistance.

Residents say construction has changed several parts of life around Mannar. Fishermen report that catches have fallen since the turbines appeared six years ago. They blame the turbines’ shadows for keeping fish away from shallow waters, although the article notes that Kalimuththu has no proof. Fishing incomes have also plunged.

In a nearby village, residents say monsoon water now rises to their waists and toilets overflow. They report damaged homes, cattle, and crops. They also say well water can no longer be safely drunk. Photographs shown by Benedict Mary Vijiliya depicted her home submerged under about a metre of water.

The reported economic effect is severe. Fishermen once earned up to 5,000 rupees a day, according to their cooperative leader. Now they barely make more than 1,000. Officials are studying mitigation measures, but residents say earlier promises produced no results.

Heavy monsoon rain must drain away from homes and villages. Residents believe the wind project has obstructed that drainage. They point specifically to concrete foundations, trenches, and roads built to provide access to the turbines. These structures may interrupt or redirect water that previously flowed toward the sea.

Benedict Mary Vijiliya says her village never experienced the same flooding before 2020. She reports water reaching waist height and shows photographs of her home submerged under about a metre of water. Residents also report overflowing toilets, damaged houses, and harm to cattle and crops. They say wells have become undrinkable.

The article presents these as residents’ claims, not as a proven engineering finding. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka says the government is carrying out feasibility studies. He says mitigation measures could reduce the flood situation. The government has not abandoned already approved projects, but it has frozen new ones in Mannar.

The article reports residents’ belief that turbines are driving fish away, but it also identifies another problem: competition from Indian trawlers. This matters because declining catches may have more than one cause. A smaller haul does not by itself show that turbine construction caused the loss.

Kalimuththu says turbine shadows fall across the water and stop fish from swimming into shallow areas. His fishing colleagues agree with that explanation, while also blaming Indian trawlers. The fishermen’s cooperative reports that daily earnings have dropped from as much as 5,000 rupees to barely more than 1,000. However, the article gives no independent study proving which pressure is responsible.

Residents are seeking action against the project, while the government is conducting feasibility studies. Stronger evidence would be needed to separate turbine effects from fishing competition or other factors. For now, the article presents both turbines and Indian trawlers as concerns raised by local fishers.

Sri Lanka is pursuing renewable energy because energy costs are rising. The article links that pressure to war in the Middle East, which has sent fuel and electricity prices soaring. Shifting to renewable power is therefore described as an economic imperative, not only an environmental choice. The government aims for renewables to provide 70 percent of electricity by 2030.

Wind power uses moving air rather than purchased fuel to produce electricity. Turbine blades rotate in the wind, and that motion drives a generator. Once a wind farm is operating, its electricity production does not require burning fuel for each unit generated. This can help limit exposure to expensive fuel imports and price shocks.

Mannar’s first 30 turbines have a combined capacity of 104 megawatts. Yet local opposition has paused further new projects there. The government says already approved work will continue, while studying flood mitigation. Sri Lanka must balance national energy needs with residents’ concerns about fishing and flooding.