Minister of Environment Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan has called to increase efforts to produce energy from renewable sources in the country’s bid to reduce the cost of electricity and decrease dependency on fossil fuels.
Speaking at a function held to launch the integration of renewable energy hybrid systems into power systems in 48 islands, the Maldivian environment minister said the government has spent over USD 64 million on subsidies to make electricity affordable to the public as the rate of electricity consumption is on the increase. The minister revealed the government bears USD 0.24 for every diesel litre burnt and this amount is spent every hour by every engine.
Furthermore, the environment minister said power production from fossil fuels is costly and the best approach to reduce the dependency is to start producing energy from renewable energy sources. In his address, he used solar energy, solar photovoltaic technology as sources that will reduce the cost by 140%, reducing the cost per unit to just USD 0.10 from USD 0.24. The minister reiterated the aim of the government to begin producing energy from renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic energy, wind, waves and water current and other possible sources.
He also highlighted the current tests the administration is carrying in collaboration with Okinawa University of Japan to produce electricity from waves renewing his hopes on project success.