The Maldives has plenty of water around, but it cannot be used for drinking purposes. To secure a sufficient supply of drinking water for the population seawater must be desalinated. Male Water and Sewerage Company provides the drinking water to the greater Male region with a population of around 150,000 people. But producing clean drinking water from seawater is very energy intensive, and the power used by Male Water and Sewerage Company is based on a number of diesel plants, which are very costly and have harming climate effects.Ironically, the production of drinking water to sustain life thereby contributes to rising sea levels threatening the existence of the entire island state.

To solve this dilemma, Maldives has every interest in lowering the share of diesel-based energy by using more sustainable alternatives. Located in the Indian Ocean, one of the obvious choices is the use of solar power and this is also the choice, which Male Water and Sewerage Company has made. In the beginning of April 2016 the first PV solar plant was inaugurated. Developed by a Danish joint venture 30 years ago Male Water and Sewerage Company was established in cooperation with the government of Maldives, the Danish company HOH Water Technology and IFU. Today, the Danish Climate Investment Fund managed by IFU has resumed working together with the Maldivian company to install PV solar plants on the roofs of buildings owned by Male water and Sewerage Company.

-Read more in our White Paper: Financing the Green Transition

The PV solar plant project is developed by Nordic Power Partners, which is a new joint venture between the Danish Climate Investment Fund and the Danish company, European Energy. Nordic Power Partners is established to create synergies by combining European Energy’s vast experience in developing and setting up wind and solar projects in Europe with IFU’s profound knowledge in assisting and co-financing business projects in developing countries and emerging markets. Assisting local developers In working with climate related projects one of the big challenges in developing countries is often the lack of good project developers able to transform a solid business idea to a bankable project. In that sense, Nordic Power Partners can be seen as the missing link providing the necessary capacity, knowledge and risk capital in the initial phase.

The business rationale is that Nordic Power Partners will locate and develop wind and solar projects in developing countries and emerging markets. This includes identifying potential projects, designing the technical layouts, negotiating with local authorities, securing access to existing transmission networks and making power purchase agreements with off-takers etc. When the development of a project is completed, subsequent financing is either provided by the partners or it is sold to external investors.

Text delivered by: Rune Nørgaard, Communication Director, Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU)