Suzlon inks deal with Maldives for 25MW wind farm

Suzlon Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maldives for a 25MW wind farm to be built at a cost of $40m (£24m).

The deal, signed late last week, calls for the Indian wind turbine maker to conduct a feasibility study over the next six months for the wind farm, to be located on the Maldives’ southernmost atoll, Addu. Construction is slated to begin within 20 months.

Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed said a $40m development loan had been secured for the project by state-controlled power producer Southern Utilities. He did not specify the source of the financing.

“With the help of that loan, the utility company first of all plans to establish a system to provide electricity from renewable sources” in Addu and nearby Fuvahmulah island, Nasheed was quoted by Minivan News as saying.

The agreement closely follows the announcement of a $200m wind farm at Gaafaru island in the Maldives, which is expected to supply about 40 per cent of the nation’s energy.

The projects were not solely intended to help the nation achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2020, said Nasheed, who emphasised that one of the government’s main objectives is to provide affordable electricity to the Maldives' 300,000 residents.

While the Addu project would be “costly” to establish, it would provide power “much cheaper than electricity produced from diesel”, he said.

Maldives is dependent on imported diesel and fuel oil to power the nearly 2,000 coral islands that comprise the archipelago nation.