The project is aimed at strengthening the power system capacity for integration of electricity generated from solar power
The solar installations will help in generating a total of 42.5MW of power. (Credit: PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay)
The World Bank has approved a $107.4m project to help Maldives speed up its transition to renewable energy.
The Accelerating Renewable Energy Integration and Sustainable Energy (ARISE) project will also support the country in sustainable recovery.
The ARISE project which build on the efforts of World Bank-funded Accelerating Sustainable Private Investments in Renewable Energy (ASPIRE) initiative to attract private investments for increasing renewable energy capacity in the country.
According to the World Bank, ARISE and ASPIRE projects have been designed to help meet the climatic challenges that the Maldives is exposed to as an island nation.
World Bank Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal country director Faris Hadad-Zervos said: “The World Bank has been adjusting its program to respond quickly to the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic while focusing to bolster economic recovery and resilience. The ARISE project is aligned with the World Bank Group’s strategy to tackle the post-COVID-19 challenges.”
“While ASPIRE focused on bringing in private developers to invest in renewable energy, the ARISE project takes it further by focusing on combining the risk mitigation mechanisms with innovative solar technologies, storage solutions and grid upgrades.”
World Bank’s project targets to expand solar capacity in Maldives
The new project from the World Bank is targeting at expanding solar power generation in locations in and out of the Greater Male’ region in the country. In addition, the project will also strengthen the capacity of the power system for integration of electricity generated from solar power.
Unde the ASPIRE and ARISE projects, the solar installations will help in generating a total of 42.5MW of power. This will be an important addition to the 2020 target of 51MW.
In addition to the new projects, the older electricity grids will be upgraded. The upgradation will be done to accommodate an increasing volume of renewable energy.
The battery systems will be deployed in the southernmost Addu City and other islands to enable integration of variable renewable energy and reliable supply in a cost-efficient manner.
In October, the World Bank has signed two concessional financing agreements worth $1.15bn for supporting two power projects in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.