‘Profitable business opportunity’: Maldives’ leader invites investments in renewable energy

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu invited foreign investments in renewable energy in the Maldives on Wednesday, providing assurance that it offers a profitable business opportunity.

He made the comments during his address on Wednesday at the Maldives Side Event on Renewable Energy, held on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Progress on 33% renewable energy goal

The Maldives spent over USD 65 million on fuel imports in just the first quarter of this year. On average, the country spends about 10 percent of its GDP on fuel, every year.

In his address, President Muizzu highlighted on the progress made on Maldives’ ambitious goal to ensure that by 2028, 33 percent of the country’s electricity demand will be from renewable energy sources.

“When I made the announcement at COP28 last year, the installed renewable energy capacity in the Maldives was just 53 megawatts. Today, total renewable energy capacity has increased to 68 megawatts,” he said.

President Muizzu said that Maldives' roadmap for the transition to renewable energy includes investments in solar, wind, and other renewable sources, along with efforts to improve energy efficiency.

He noted that Maldives has begun installing solar photovoltaic systems on multiple islands, operationalized a waste-to-energy system in Addu City, and are in the process of installing an additional 13-megawatt waste-to-energy system in Thilafushi. 

President Muizzu said that his administration has also developed plans for low-carbon transportation systems, and has also set an ambitious target to meet 35 percent of the Maldives fisheries sector's electricity needs from renewable sources, particularly focusing on the processing sector, within the next four years.

The Maldives fisheries sector is already recognized as one that practices the world’s most sustainable fishing method, the pole-and-line.

President Muizzu said that his administration aims to advance even further, maintaining Maldives’ position as leaders in sustainable, clean, and green fishing practices worldwide.

A profitable business opportunity

But he said the renewable energy transition is not just about mitigating climate change.

“The renewable energy transition is not just about mitigating climate change. It’s also about increasing our economic resilience,” he said.

President Muizzu invited investments in renewable energy.

“I can assure interested partners, that renewable energy in the Maldives is a profitable business opportunity,” he said.

President Muizzu noted that 99 percent of the Maldives is ocean. He said that his administration wants to explore how best the ocean can be used for energy generation.

“This includes utilizing technologies such as ocean current energy, wave energy, and ocean thermal energy conversion,” he said.

“We invite interested parties to come and invest in the Maldives in these areas, and more. The Maldives is the perfect incubator to test novel renewable energy systems.”

President Muizzu also spoke about investment opportunities in the Maldives under the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act, which includes investment in renewable energy projects.

The minimum investment value is USD100 million.

Earlier this year, Maldives issued the initial permit for the first project under the SEZ Act. The project assesses the viability of 150 megawatts of floating solar to cater for the power demand of the Greater Male’ Area.

“As you can see, we are not too far from achieving our renewable energy goals,” he said.

“However, we need the support of our friends and partners.”

Affordable and accessible finance

President Muizzu reiterated his call for affordable and accessible finance that meets Maldives’ needs.

He said that the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance must be coupled with ease of access to funds and rapid disbursement from funding institutions, including provisions for mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage finance. He said that it must also be aligned with the 1.5 degrees goal, to ensure sufficient resources are mobilized.

“The renewable energy transition is about building resilience to climate change. It’s about resilient economies. Resilient societies. It is the story of our resilience,” he said.

He expressed hope that Maldives’ story empowers, emboldens and encourages more states to begin their journey towards renewable energy.

“Together, we are resourceful. Resilient, we will be,” he said, as he concluded his address.