Maldives to Harness the Power of the Sun to Generate Most of the Country’s Electricity by 2020
The Maldives will harness the power of the sun to generate most of the country’s electricity by 2020, the Ministry of Economic Development announced on last week.
The Maldives ‘renewable energy investment framework’, in effect a plan for a carbon neutral energy sector, which has been published online today, includes a mandatory target for the country to generate at least 60% of its electricity from solar power by 2020. The target has been approved by the cabinet.
The plan also proposes a shift to wind, batteries and biomass to complement solar power, retaining existing diesel generators for reserve power. Economic modeling suggests it is already cheaper to generate electricity from solar photovoltaic panels than from diesel on many Maldivian islands. The direct cost of daytime solar PV is around US $0.21 per kilowatt hour, compared to $0.28 – $0.44 per kW/hour for existing diesel generators.
The plan suggests that up to 80% of the electricity island communities use could be derived from renewable energy, without the cost of energy increasing. The country’s 100 tourist resorts will beoffered opportunities to reduce their oil consumption.
The total cost of decarbonising the Maldivian energy sector, including industrial zones and tourist resorts, is estimated at $3bn – $5bn over the next ten years. The investments will largely pay for themselves because the Maldives would save huge sums of money on oil imports.
“We are investing in renewable energy because it is cheaper and cleaner than burning fossil fuels,” said Mahmood Razee, Minister for Economic Development.
Maldives Harnesses its Sunshine in Carbon Neutral Energy Plan “At the moment, our economy is run on imported oil and every time the oil price rises, we all suffer. The Maldives has an abundance of sunshine, so shifting to solar will improve the country’s energy security,” Razee added. The renewable energy plan has been published on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development (www.trade.gov.mv). The Ministry has invited energy experts from the Maldives and around the world to suggest improvements.
“The government has limited experience working with renewable energies because these are relatively new technologies to the Maldives. We have published our investment framework online and highlighted areas where we require feedback and help. We are crowd sourcing our energy plans and inviting the whole world to help us,” Razee said.
In 2010, the Maldives announced plans to become the world’s first carbon neutral nation by 2020. The energy sector is the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Maldives will announce plans to reduce emissions from other areas of the economy, such as transport, later this year.
Tags: alternative energy, burning fossil fuels, clean energy, development www, energy investment, energy security, investment framework, island communities, maldive solar, maldivian islands, ministry of economic development, neutral energy, oil consumption, oil imports, power of the sun, renewable energy, solar energy, solar photovoltaic panels
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