This installation is being carried out as part of the World Bank-Funded Ministry of Environment and Climate Changes’ Accelerating Sustainable Private Investment in Renewable Energy (ASPIRE) project.
The Sinamale' Bridge
In an effort to increase sustainable energy production as well as reduce Government spending, on December 08, 2022, a large-scale solar panel installation project was commenced on the Link Road connecting Hulhumale' and Male' through the Sinamale’ bridge. This installation is being carried out as part of the World Bank-Funded Accelerating Sustainable Private Investment in Renewable Energy (ASPIRE) project.
This project, which began in 2014, has three main goals: establish a structure to facilitate private investment in Renewable Energy (RE), including solar photovoltaics (PV), wind, waste, and other RE technologies; develop an energy integration plan for the greater Male' region that maximizes the use of RE, and build capacity in PV technology.
The main aim of the project is to reduce the dependency of expensive fuel imported to provide electricity in the Maldives - both due to the negative environmental impacts as well as the high cost.
With a majority of the solar panel installation work to be finished in the first quarter of 2023, this project will play a big role in the Governments efforts to cut costs as this will help reduce state expenditure by MVR 15-20 million as the State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) who provides electricity all over the Maldives heavily depends on Government subsidies to carry out their operations.
With this project aiming to have a cumulative installation of 6.5MW solar photovoltaic installations in the Maldives, the commencement of the solar panel project on the Link Road is the most large scale solar-project to be carried out in the Maldives.
The Maldives has been working towards being more sustainable and eco-friendly as climate change continues to impact low-lying island nations such as the Maldives. With the weather drastically changing with heavy rains and floods in several countries this year, such projects have become extremely important to curb the damage that we have done to the environment over the decades.
While this is by far the biggest solar panel installation project to be carried out in the Maldives to date, this is not the first time efforts have been put towards a more sustainable method of energy production. On March 2020, STELCO also launched a program by the name ‘Green Life Initiative’ in an effort to make solar energy more common in the Maldives.
