Project Solar City is an atoll go in the Maldives.
The proposed renewable energy project at the center of the Indian Ocean nation’s future power generation plans was declared the first-ever special economic zone by the Republic’s President Mohamed Muizzu earlier this month.
Now the government has signed on a subsidiary of Abraxas Power to develop the 100-MW floating solar system designed to heighten grid stability within the energy-dependent Maldives.
APM SPV, the subsidiary of Abraxas Power, signed the investment agreement with the Republic of Maldives government. President Muizzu’s presidential decree set forth investment thresholds on the Project Solar City composition, including 100 MW of floating solar photovoltaic capacity, a tourist facility, an industrial and logistics hub and room for real estate development.
“By leveraging sustainable innovation and strategic investment, we aim to cut emissions, lower energy costs, and meet up to 50% of Greater Malé’s electricity demand with 100% clean power,” J. Colter Eadie, CEO of Abraxas, said in a statement. Malé is a primary inhabited island within the Maldives.
“This project not only strengthens national energy security by reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels but also supports the country’s foreign reserves by addressing one of its largest sources of capital outflow,” Eadie added.
The Republic of Maldives has set forward a goal of achieving nationwide net-zero emissions targets by 2030, including generating a third of its energy needs through renewable energy resources by 2028. The nation’s leadership sees its Project Solar City as a future catalyst for economic diversification, investment inflow and sustainable development within the island chain.
The Maldives are comprised of 26 atolls stretching across the equator some 400-plus miles off the Asian mainland. The nation’s population is about 515,000 people.
The government issued its first permitting around the Project Solar City to Abraxas Power last year. The renewable energy arrays near Malé/Hulhumale islands and would discharge power into the central grid, according to reports.
The Maldives sit barely above sea level, but the Project Solar City proponents contend that the floating system will be designed to handle changes rises in sea elevations.
