Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology has revealed that funding has been secured to increase the capacity of solar energy in the Maldives by 60MW.
Speaking to PSM News, Director General Ahmed Ali said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will assist in the development of 20MW of solar energy and that the ministry is preparing to seek contractors for the project. He also said funding has been secured for the installation of solar panels in the atolls and that the development of solar energy will greatly reduce the cost of importing fuel and providing fuel subsidies.
The government is preparing to launch major projects to develop solar energy in the Maldives as part of the efforts to become a carbon-neutral country by 2030. One notable project is the development of 11MW of solar energy in six islands. Malaysia-based Mega First Power Industries and Powerchina Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited have been contracted to build solar energy systems. It is the largest project to establish solar energy systems in the country’s history.
The project supports the aim of the administration to minimise the dependency on fuel by increasing the amount of power produced from renewable energy sources. The environment ministry has assured the expenditure on fuel will be significantly reduced following the completion of the project.