The World Bank has praised the Maldives for its efforts to develop renewable energy in the country. Vice President of the World Bank for South Asia Region Martin Raiser made the remark at the inauguration ceremony of the 5MW Solar Photovoltaics (PV) installation on the Hulhumale' link road.
Speaking at the ceremony, Raiser said the World Bank remains a committed partner of the government of the Maldives in supporting its ambition of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and helping the country overcome the COVID-19 pandemic’s dreadful human and economic impacts in a greater and more resilient and sustainable way. He said that the solar PV installation is a pilot project of the World Bank and that similar projects will be initiated in other countries like the Maldives. He noted that many private investors were interested in the project initiated in the Maldives.
The solar PV installation project is conducted under the Accelerating Sustainable Private Investment in Renewable Energy (ASPIRE) implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology with the assistance of the World Bank. A total of 21 companies expressed interest in setting up the ASPIRE 5MW Solar PV installation on the link road. Ensys Company Limited of Thailand won the tender for the project by submitting the lowest price in addition to technical and financial capabilities through a competitive tender. It is the largest number of solar PV systems in the country under a single contract so far. The project will significantly reduce the government's expenditure on fuel and is estimated to save the state between USD800,000 to USD1 million on fuel costs and generate 7.3 million units of electricity annually.