Maldives targets to become first carbon neutral country

Stelco, the Maldives’ state-owned electric company, has announced a 75MW wind park project to be built in the remote island of Gaafaru to supply 40 per cent of the county’s electricity requirement. The ambitious US$200 million plan will utilize the latest generation of wind turbines and will link the Maldives’ electricity grid through a network of sea cables.

A government official said that the wind turbine facility in Gaafaru, just north of the country’s capital city Male, is likely to be completed in 20 months. He additionally informed that the build-own-operate project will be run by the UK-based Falcon Energy.

The wind farm project will not only supply the Maldives with carbon-free electricity, but it will also help reduce diesel generator use. As said by Chris Goodall of Oxford Climate Associates, the energy consultancy firm that developed the country’s carbon neutral programme, the Gaafaru project will cut the Maldives’ greenhouse gas emissions by around 25 per cent. Many of Gaafaru Island’s inhabitants will also be employed in the project to maintain the wind farm’s equipment.

Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, a strong supporter of renewable energy, launched the initiative to make the country carbon neutral by 2020. He aims to boost the production of renewable energy, including wind and solar power, in the island nation.

The world’s lowest-lying nation, the Maldives, is at substantial treat from fast-rising sea levels. Last month, several Maldivian cabinet members met underwater in a stunt intended at highlighting the island nation’s vulnerability to rising seawater levels. The country of nearly 2,000 coral islands targets to become the first carbon neutral nation in the world.