Marine energy in the Maldives

A new study report, supported by the Scottish Government, has been delivered to help the Maldives develop the country's potential for marine energy with the ambition of becoming the first carbon neutral State by 2020.

The report follows the signing of a statement of cooperation in 2009 between First Minister Alex Salmond and President Mohamed Nasheed.

It was produced by the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Practice (CUSP) at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, and provides an assessment of the potential for marine energy in the Maldivesm looking at both the technological and socio-economic dimensions of deploying marine renewables in the future energy mix with a focus on assessing the suitability of the conditions and natural resources in the waters around the Maldives for producing marine energy.

Minister for Environment and Climate Change Stewart Stevenson, said:

"Scotland is again making a difference for the developing world. The Maldives aims to be carbon neutral within 10 years and this study uses Scottish low carbon expertise to help the country meet the challenges of climate change.

"Scotland is already a leader in the research, development and deployment of marine energy, with a quarter of Europe's wave potential, significant planned investment in the sector and our unique £10 million Saltire Prize. We are seeing huge advances in the skills and expertise required to harness the power of the seas and I am confident there will be further opportunities for international research collaboration.

"We are committed to working with developing nations to share our knowledge and technology in the global effort to meet the challenges of climate change. This report furthers the understanding of the challenges and opportunities for marine energy in the Maldives and its findings will be incorporated into the developing Maldives Renewable Energy Investment Framework. I look forward to further cooperation between Scotland and the Maldives going forward."

Alan Owen, Director of CUSP at Robert Gordon University, said:

"It has been an exciting experience to share our many years of experience with marine energy in the Maldives and elsewhere to provide both the Scottish and the Maldivian Government with a thorough insight into the potential of marine renewables.

"A two-week site visit measuring the currents and computational fluid mechanics modelling afterwards in our Research Centre enabled us to provide a first indication of the marine potential for the Maldives. We are looking forward to further close co-operation between Scotland and the Maldives to tackle climate change, in particular where the effects will be felt first."

Chris Bronsdon, Chief Executive of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre, said:

"From targeted support leveraged by the Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC), the work by RGU has confirmed that potential exists for marine energy to contribute to the future energy mix in the Maldives and could help the Maldives Government achieve their 2020 goal of a carbon neutral economy. With a free resource available to exploit there is a clear logic in delivering innovative low carbon marine energy projects within the Maldives to offset the use of fossil fuelled generation. We hope that SEGEC can continue to add value to progress the project from concept to delivery."