The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Engineers Union says that tenders for 190 MW of solar and wind power generation projects have been delayed for a year, thus hampering the government's target of meeting 70 percent of the country's total electricity demand from renewable energy sources by 2030.

Although a Cabinet paper was submitted seeking approval to call for tenders for the construction of 150 MW solar power plants and 40 MW wind power plants in August 2020, the State Ministry of Solar Wind and Hydropower Development has delayed obtaining the relevant approval, Chairman of the Union Saumya Kumara Manawadu said.

He said there was a reasonable doubt that the state ministry is delaying the procees seeking a way to meddle with the tender procedure in a suspicious manner. He said that in order to achieve the target of achieving renewable energy sources, tenders for such power plants should be called at least three times a year.

President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, addressing the United Nations General Assembly last month, stated that Sri Lanka would cover 70% of its electricity requirement through renewable energy by 2030. His election manifesto in 2019, however, pledged to cover 80% of Sri Lanka's total energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030.