Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, September 25 (newsin.asia): Sri Lanka is encouraging entrepreneurs, small businesses, and community organizations to invest in 7,000 small scale solar projects throughout the country, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy in New York.

He also said that the country’s largest wind power farm was recently inaugurated.

The High-Level Dialogue on Energy commenced in New York yesterday (24) in parallel to the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly under the theme Ensuring everyone has access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy.

President Gotabaya said that Sri Lanka would welcome large scale investments in renewable energy, particularly in solar, wind and biomass, over the coming decades.

Sustainable energy development continues to be a high priority for Sri Lanka. The President said the target is for 70% of the country’s energy requirements to be obtained through renewable sources by 2030 and that the government has made plans to transition away from fossil fuels, promote de-carbonization, and make Sri Lanka a carbon neutral country by 2050.

The President said Sri Lanka’s commitment not to construct any new coal power plants is reflected in its Nationally Determined Contributions to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and also said Sri Lanka is happy to be a co-lead” of the Energy Compact for No New Coal Power.”