Maldives opens pre-qualification for 14-MW solar tender

The Maldives has opened pre-qualification for a tender to develop, finance, construct and operate a solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant with a capacity ranging from 11 MW to 14 MW.

Interested parties should file their applications for pre-qualification by 1300 local time on September 9, 2021. The winner will sign a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the local electricity service provider. It will be supported by risk mitigation instruments extended by the World Bank through the Accelerating Renewable Energy Integration and Sustainable Energy (ARISE) project.

The latest scheme, which includes installations on 14 islands, will be realised as part of an existing public-private partnership project framework that was developed with assistance from the World Bank. A number of other projects have already been developed under that framework, including a 1.5-MW rooftop PV system, two ground-mounted solar plants of 5 MW, currently under construction, and a 21-MW project in the tender stage.

At present, renewables account for only 4% of the national energy mix in the Maldives, but the state wants to become carbon neutral by 2030. Earlier this month, the government launched a tender process to prequalify bidders for the installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) totalling 40 MW/40 MWh of capacity.

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