Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna has stated the administration aims to increase the power generation from renewable energy to 50 megawatts by the end of its term. She made the remarks during her speech at the ceremony to hand over the home solar programme to Fenaka Corporation Limited.
At the ceremony, Minister Shauna said increasing the capacity of renewable energy will save USD 16 million from the state budget. The minister said the Maldives is a strong advocate for climate change action and the government is working to eliminate the damage to the local environment. She noted the government is also working to reduce the oil expenditure, which had risen to USD 65 million in 2019 alone. She said the government's policy is to increase the power generation from renewable energy recorded in 2018 by 20%.
Also at the ceremony, Managing Director of Fenaka Ahmed Saeed Mohamed said the utility company had been focused on strengthening and upgrading its networks in the atolls in the past few years. He highlighted the importance of installing solar panels in the islands and said being able to conduct the home solar programme is a huge accomplishment for Fenaka.
As part of the programme, Fenaka is tasked with installing solar panels in 1,000 households and establishing means for the households to pay their bills. The Maldives began installing solar panels in 2007 and currently generates 37 megawatts from renewable energy, with 20 megawatts of renewable energy having been established in the past three years.