Maldives luxury resort benefits from PV array floating at sea

Austrian-Maldivian company Swimsol has finalised a floating solar installation for the LUX* South Ari Atoll luxury resort in the Maldives, it was announced on Friday.

Swimsol has deployed 12 units of its SolarSea floating platforms to complement the rooftop photovoltaic (PV) arrays it installed previously on all suitable roofs across the resort, which now has a total of 678 kWp of solar power generating capacity.

LUX* South Ari Atoll claims that this is the world’s largest solar system floating at sea, designed to withstand waves, storms and saltwater. The resort’s available solar capacity is enough to cover the consumption of all guest villas during the peak sun hours, it said, adding that it plans further solar installations.

In addition to generating power, the SolarSea system provides shelter for juvenile fish and invertebrates, serving as a fish-aggregating device. It floats above the sandy seabed and thus avoids the coral reefs.

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