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Wirsol Solar is taking ownership of being the first German company to install solar systems in the Maldives with an output of 652kW. The company recently completed a 294kW PV plant, which is providing energy to hospitals and schools on six of the islands. Wirsol Solar aims to build at least 20MW more over the next few years.
The company noted that the Maldives spend around 17% of its GNP on the import of diesel. In an effort to conserve costs, the island state has opted to become the first country to produce all of its power requirements using regenerative energy sources by 2020. "As solar radiation here is about 70% higher than in Germany, photovoltaics is the central component of the energy turnaround on the Maldives", says Stefan Riel, co-founder of Wirsol Solar.
The plants installed by Wirsol Solar are generating around 1.1 million kWh of power per year. The company operates the PV plants and has formed a JV with Renewable Energy Maldives, noting that the power production is sold to state energy supplier, Stelco.
“German companies have been able to gain a global advantage in the project development of photovoltaic systems. These engineering qualities are now benefiting a region, which is more drastically affected by climate change than almost any other", says Christian von Stetten, Honorary Consul of the Maldives and member of the German conservative party CDU.
