The installation of solar panels on the Male'-Hulhumale' highway under the 'Accelerating Sustainable Private Investment in Renewable Energy (ASPIRE)' project is now 95 percent complete, the Environment Ministry has said, warning that relocating the panels will require additional spending.
President-Elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said last Saturday that he would remove the solar panels installed on the Sinamale’ bridge highway. The panels have obstructed the pleasant view of the bridge area, he said.
Renewable energy is important but the project was not undertaken properly, Muizzu said. As the President-Elect, he said he intends to relocate the panels to another inhabited island.
Asked about the issue, Ifad Waheed, communications specialist of ASPIRE, told Adhadhu that 95 percent of the project has been completed in line with the agreement.
Work is ongoing on connecting the panels to the State Electricity Company's (STELCO) grid and changing the location would pose financial risks, he noted.
"There will be financial implications if the location is to be changed. The cost could only be estimated after we get details of the areas that the new government wants to relocate to," Ifad said.
The transitional committee on behalf of the President-Elect has not informed the Environment Ministry about wanting to remove the solar PVs set up on the Hulhumale' link road and changing the panels to a different location, Ifad said.
Ifad said he expects that President-Elect Dr. Muizzu would discuss with the project's technical teams, the investor and the World Bank after assuming office.
"Despite the President-Elect saying at a public event that he wants to make the change, technical details have not been shared with the ministry. So if the decision is made for the change, it is expected that discussions will take place with the ministry's technical teams for the project, the investor and the World Bank," said Ifad, providing further details about the project.
Electricity generated by the project is to be sold to STELCO at a rate of USD 0.10 per unit, which is MVR 1.68 per unit.
Electricity generated by the 1.5 megawatt solar PV system installed on 1,000 housing units in Hulhumale' under phase one of ASPIRE is being sold to STELCO at USD 0.21 per unit.
Once the project is complete, the solar panels will produce 7.3 million units annually and the state will save between MVR 15 to MVR 20 million a year from the cost of fuel imports.
