The case of Soneva Fushi Resort.
Soneva Fushi Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant is the largest renewable energy system in operation in the Maldives. Soneva Fushi plan to expand on this and other clean energy technologies in the years to come. A combination of clean energy provision and mitigation of demand are central to de-carbonised vision for 2015.
The ‘grid parity’ system, the first in the region to use best of breed thin film PV panels, was fabricated in easy-to-assemble kit form by Beck Electric of Germany. The entire system, including tools required for assembly, was shipped to the Maldives in a 40 foot container and installed in two weeks by a team of 10 local workers, none of whom had worked with glass or solar panels before. The completion of the project in November 2009 marked an important step in the company wide goal of a net zero carbon footprint.
The panels have been discreetly assembled in the middle of the island’s jungle and are visible only when guests are given guided tours of the resort’s impressive recycling, waste to wealth ‘Eco Centro’.
Soneva Fushi Resort
Related links:
Global Islands Network – Maldives
The Maldives’ 2009 Carbon Audit - PDF
