Sungrow Helps Power The Maldives With Solar + Storage

Sungrow has announced the installation of solar PV and energy storage systems for five islands in the Maldives that will significantly reduce reliance on diesel based power generation.

The equipment for the 2.7 MWp of solar and 700 kW / 333 kWh energy storage project supplied by Sungrow included PV and battery inverters, the energy management system and Li-ion batteries; with the latter a Sungrow-Samsung SDI joint venture.

PV diesel hybrid energy storage micro-grids were installed on the islands of Addu, Villingili, Kurendhoo, Buruni and Goidhoo. According to the company, the project will save USD 1.4 million in diesel costs and avoid 4.32 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, while supplying 30% of local residential and office electricity requirements.

Professor Renxian Cao, president of Sungrow, said the company had completed 400 energy storage projects globally by the end of last year, with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt-hour.

“We’ll continue to support the Maldives in their efforts to reduce power cost and protect the environment,” he stated.

Professor Renxian Cao founded Sungrow in 1997 and today the company is one of the largest solar inverter manufacturers in the world.

Sungrow is probably best known in Australia for solar inverters used with small scale solar power systems; which have been quite popular given their features and pricing point. You can read more about the company and its products on our Sungrow solar inverter reviews page.

The Climate Change Canary

The Maldives has a special interest in solar power that’s not just related to financial savings, but also saving the Maldives themselves.

The nation is a canary in the coal mine (so to speak) with regard to climate change. The Maldives is threatened by rising sea levels and bleaching of coral reefs vital to its tourism and fishing industries.

Under some scenarios, it’s predicted the Maldives will lose around 77 percent of its land area by around the year 2100

So great is the threat that a previous government considered buying land elsewhere to relocate the population, but it seems the nation has embarked on geoengineering projects instead.

Currently under construction, the “City of Hope” is being built on an artificial island near the capital and fortified with walls 3 metres above sea level – higher than any natural island in the nation. However, that project is also causing environmental issues of its own.

The Maldives Government has repeatedly called for greater action on climate change and was understandably very unhappy by recent news the USA would withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

“As one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and a leader of 37 island and low-lying coastal nations at the United Nations, we are especially disappointed that the world’s largest economy and biggest historic emitter abdicated its responsibility on such a critical issue,” said President Abdulla Yameen.