$138 Million Maldives Renewable Energy Project Backed by World Bank Launched
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The Energy Authority of Maldives has announced the inception of $138 million renewable energy project which would generate 26 MW of electricity in Maldives.
Abdul Matheen, State Minister for Energy revealed that the project is expected to be completed within five years. Out of a total 26 MW of generated electricity, 16 MW will be supplied to the Male region, which constitutes 30% of the total population of the country. This project is a part of a renewable energy investment plan of the government which has been developed under the Sustainable Renewable Energy Project (SREP) of the Climate Investment Fund. The project would be funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and German and Japanese Banks. According to the Energy Authority of the Maldives, the project will be extended to 50 islands to promote the use of renewable energy.
“We are making preparations to commence the project during next month. Under the project, ten islands would run solely on renewable energy. In addition, 30 percent of electricity in 30 islands will be converted to renewable energy,” Matheen detailed.
The plan is expected to drive the interest of private companies in the renewable energy sector in Maldives. Under the plan, transformation and redesigning of the present energy systems would take place, about 10 islands are expected to completely transform their current energy systems, 15 islands are expected to redesign their energy systems, 30 islands aim to generate 30 percent of their energy from renewable sources, and around six MW of electricity would be generated from the waste products in four regions of the Maldives within the next five years.
Maldives is likely to face the brunt of climate change and rising sea levels. The island nation has taken many significant steps to ensure its economic growth has a much less adverse impact on the environment. The country has set a target to become carbon neutral by 2020 (Maldives Stock Exchange became carbon-neutral in 2010); the government is planing to implement a tax on tourism to raise funds for adaptation and mitigation plans; and while preparing for the worst case scenario, the government also purchased a ‘floating’ island off the coast of Dubai.
Image Credit: Shahee Ilyas via Wikimedia Commons
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