"There are some wake-up calls... pushing us to move more to renewable energy," Karunathilaka told AFP in an interview. "If we can get as much as possible from renewable energy, that would be our policy in the next few years." The island nation, which imports all of its oil and gas, has been hit hard since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, choking the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz. Sharp rises in fuel, gas and electricity prices, rationing, and inflation at a three-year high have dealt a painful blow to an economy only just recovering from its worst-ever crisis in 2022. The Energy Ministry says the government has at times spent up to 30 percent of its foreign exchange reserves in a single month to pay for fossil fuel imports. Sri Lanka already gets around 60 percent of its electricity from renewables, including about 40 percent from hydropower. Its pre-war target was 70 percent by 2030, but the minister now says: "We will probably have to go beyond 70 percent." The transition, however, is proving more complicated than expected. The island has an estimated 30 gigawatts of wind potential, but faces growing anger on the northwestern Mannar peninsula, where residents blame turbines operating since 2020 for causing floods, driving fish away and threatening migratory birds. Karunathilaka said he had listened, promising that only already approved or under-construction projects there will go ahead, with future wind farms built elsewhere. Technical constraints are another hurdle. "The problem is the constraint in the transmission lines, availability and also control of the grid, as well as fluctuations in supply and demand," he said. Five major transmission lines are planned from next year. The success of rooftop solar has also created instability, with daytime generation often exceeding demand. A six-hour island-wide blackout this month was possibly caused by solar oversupply. By 2029, the government hopes to raise solar capacity to nearly 4,400 megawatts, up 388 percent from 2024, while reforming pricing, expanding battery storage, and eventually phasing down coal and naphtha to reach 90-95 percent renewables in 10 to 15 years. (Bssnews)