Green energy vs local anger: Why this Sri Lankan community is saying no to wind turbines

A wind turbine is a machine that converts the movement of air into electrical power. Wind pushes its blades, making a rotor turn. That rotation drives a generator, which produces electricity for the grid. The article focuses on Mannar’s local dispute rather than explaining the engineering in detail.

At Mannar, turbines stand on a narrow strip of sand exposed to strong winds across the gulf between Sri Lanka and India. Their rotating blades capture that moving air. The first phase has 30 turbines with a combined capacity of 104 megawatts, and it joined the national grid in 2020.

Wind power matters because it generates electricity without relying on fuel burned in power stations. Sri Lanka wants 70 per cent of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030. However, the Mannar experience shows that projects can face resistance when residents believe construction affects fishing, drainage, homes, and livelihoods.

The Mannar wind project is already a large electricity installation. Its first phase contains 30 turbines with a combined capacity of 104 megawatts. Those turbines joined Sri Lanka’s electricity grid in 2020. They are owned by the state utility, Ceylon Electricity Board.

Construction has begun on another 14 turbines. These are the additional machines currently planned and approved in the area. A separate third phase involving 52 turbines had been awarded to Indian conglomerate Adani. The government cancelled that contract in 2025 after a disagreement over the price per kilowatt-hour.

The government has since frozen new projects in Mannar to reduce local opposition. It says only projects already approved will proceed. Therefore, the current expansion consists of the operating 30-turbine phase and the 14 turbines under construction, while the proposed 52-turbine phase is no longer moving forward under that contract.

Mannar residents oppose the turbines because they associate them with worsening conditions in their communities. Fishers say catches have fallen since the turbines appeared six years ago. Residents also say turbine foundations and access-road trenches changed how rainwater drains, causing serious flooding during monsoon rains.

Fisher Venkatasamy Kalimuththu believes the blades’ moving shadows keep fish away from shallow water, though he acknowledges having no proof. In one nearby village, Benedict Mary Vijiliya says homes flood, toilets overflow, cattle and crops suffer, and well water can no longer be safely used. These claims connect the project’s physical construction with both fishing and village drainage.

Officials are studying ways to reduce the flooding, but opposition remains strong. Local groups say earlier promises of mitigation produced no results. The government has frozen new Mannar projects, while residents have filed court complaints and say they will continue resisting further development.

Residents describe effects across nearly every part of daily life. Fishers report much smaller catches and incomes. Villagers say monsoon water rises to waist level, toilets overflow, homes are damaged, cattle and crops are affected, and wells can no longer provide drinkable water. They say these problems were not present before 2020.

Benedict Mary Vijiliya showed photographs of her home submerged under about a metre of water. She links the flooding to concrete turbine foundations and trenches for access roads, which she says stop rainwater draining toward the sea. In Pesalai, fishermen’s cooperative head A. Stanislas Peries says daily fishing income has dropped from as much as 5,000 rupees to barely 1,000.

These are residents’ claims, not findings confirmed in the article. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka says feasibility studies are under way. He says their recommendations could reduce the flooding, while the government has paused new Mannar projects.

Local fishers do not attribute declining catches entirely to the wind turbines. Kalimuththu and his colleagues also point to competition from Indian trawlers. These vessels are identified as another pressure on the fish available to Mannar’s fishing communities.

The article gives this explanation alongside Kalimuththu’s belief that turbine shadows discourage fish from entering shallow water. He says he has no proof for that claim. The fishers’ comments show that they see the decline as connected to both the new wind-energy infrastructure and competition at sea.

The article does not quantify how much Indian trawlers contribute to the falling catches. It also does not independently establish whether the turbines, trawlers, or another factor is responsible. Still, the competing-fishing claim is important because it broadens the dispute beyond renewable-energy construction and highlights the economic pressures facing local fishing families.

The government has responded in two directions. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka says feasibility studies are examining how to reduce the flooding residents report. At the same time, the government has frozen new wind projects in Mannar to ease opposition. It has pledged that only projects already approved will be carried out.

The government is also pursuing a national renewable-energy target. It aims to generate 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030, including wind power. The first Mannar phase, with 30 turbines and 104 megawatts, is already connected to the grid. Another 14 turbines have begun construction.

The government cancelled a separate 52-turbine contract with Indian conglomerate Adani in 2025 after a dispute over the price per kilowatt-hour. Residents remain unconvinced by mitigation promises. Two complaints have been filed in Sri Lankan courts, and officials must balance electricity needs with local demands for protection and accountability.

Renewable-energy projects are important to Sri Lanka because fuel and electricity costs are soaring. The article calls the shift to renewable energy an economic imperative. The government aims for renewable sources, including wind, to provide 70 per cent of electricity by 2030. Wind projects can therefore support a national response to expensive energy.

Conflict arises when a project’s local costs are felt more sharply than its national benefits. In Mannar, residents say turbine foundations and road trenches interfere with rainwater drainage. Fishers report smaller catches, while villagers describe flooded homes, damaged crops, affected cattle, and unusable wells. They also say promised mitigation has not delivered.

The article shows that a clean-energy goal does not automatically create local agreement. Sri Lanka has frozen new Mannar projects, continued approved construction, and begun feasibility studies. Future projects will need to address community complaints while the country pursues cheaper and more secure electricity through renewables.