The first permit under the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) law was issued on Wednesday to carry out a large-scale project to provide electricity to the Male' area using floating solar panels.
The Board of Investments created under the SEZ Act at the Economic Ministry issued the permit to Canada's Abraxas Power Corp.
A 150 megawatt floating photo voltaic (PV) power plant and infrastructure needed to provide electricity in the Greater Male' Region are to be established under the project proposed by Abraxas with technical partner Sungrow Power Supply. Along with a battery system, the PV system is to be connected to the main power grid.
Further studies and assessments will be carried out under the permit as outlined in the SEZ law, the Economic Ministry said in a press release. A final agreement would be reached after negotiations on the commercial terms and detailed scope of the project.
The project will help achieve the government's target of generating at least 33 percent of the country's electricity demand through renewable sources by 2028, the ministry said.
Abraxas CEO J. Colter Eadie told Canadian media that the company devoted "significant resources and expertise" to develop a project tailored to the Maldives. The project would revolutionize the country's energy sector and facilitate growth of other industries, he said.
Canada's Abraxas is a leading company in the renewable energy sector that secured over USD 8 billion in capital projects through competitive government awards over the past year.
If the company's project in the Maldives is successful, the government's renewable energy target will be reached. The largest solar power system in the Maldives at present on the Hulhumale' highway generates five megawatts of electricity.
