Solar and renewable energy in the Maldives

The Maldives has no oil, gas, coal, rivers or hills. It does have around 1,200 low coral islands spread across hundreds of kilometres of sea, so there is no single national grid. Instead, each inhabited island has its own small power system, usually a powerhouse with diesel generators and a fuel tank, topped up by boat. You can read more about how the islands are laid out in our guide to where the Maldives is.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), every inhabited island had electricity by 2008. But it comes at a cost:

• Imported fuel. ADB reports that fossil fuel imports (diesel, petrol, cooking gas and aviation fuel together) are worth about 13.5% of GDP. The World Bank put the country’s fuel import bill at around USD 500 million in 2022, when oil prices were high.
• Growing demand. Diesel used for power generation rose by about 56% between 2017 and 2023, according to ADB, as islands grew and tourism expanded.
• Subsidies. Electricity is subsidised, so higher fuel prices put pressure on the public budget. See the Maldivian economy explained.
• Emissions. For a country that is mostly sea and only a metre or two above it, burning diesel sits uneasily with the climate message the Maldives takes to the world. See Is the Maldives sinking? for that wider story.

Two state-owned companies run most public electricity:

• STELCO (State Electric Company) serves Malé and the Greater Malé area and a number of other islands.
• FENAKA Corporation serves most outer islands; the World Bank describes it as operating on about 150 islands.

Resorts, which are private islands with their own rules, generate their own electricity separately. Electricity prices for local islands are overseen by the Utility Regulatory Authority, and the Energy Act (Law No. 18/2021) sets the licensing rules for anyone who generates or supplies power. The Act also requires service providers to make arrangements to feed renewable energy into the grid.

Sun is plentiful all year, but land is scarce, so panels mostly go on roofs, harbour structures and the few open plots an island can spare. The main programmes are run by the government with international lenders.

ASPIRE and ARISE (World Bank)

ASPIRE (Accelerating Sustainable Private Investments in Renewable Energy) began in 2014. Its idea was to bring in private investors to build solar plants and sell the power to the state utilities under long-term contracts, with guarantees to reduce their risk. The first project was small, about 1.5 MW. As investors gained confidence, the price of solar power fell sharply in later tenders, according to the World Bank.

ARISE (Accelerating Renewable Energy Integration and Sustainable Energy), approved in 2020, scaled up the same approach. The World Bank says the two projects together are installing more than 53.5 MW of solar and 50 MWh of battery storage. Among the results visitors may pass: a 5 MW solar project in the Malé area and rooftop and roadside panels in Hulhumalé, including along the Hulhumalé link road. A newer ARISE round of about 11 MW covers larger outer islands and cities such as Kulhudhuffushi, Eydhafushi, Hinnavaru, Thinadhoo, Fuvahmulah and Addu City.

POISED (Asian Development Bank)

POISED (Preparing Outer Islands for Sustainable Electricity Development) was approved in 2014 with ADB grants and a European Investment Bank loan. It aims to turn the diesel grids of around 160 outer islands into “hybrid” systems: solar panels and batteries working alongside the generators, controlled by an energy management system so the diesel engines run less. ADB reported that POISED would deliver 28 MW of solar and 12.5 MWh of storage on completion. The work has taken longer than first planned and was rolled out atoll by atoll; in 2026 the government reported hybrid systems running across 26 islands in Raa and Baa atolls, with further islands in Kaafu, Alif Alif, Alif Dhaalu and Vaavu under way.

ASSURE and household solar

ADB’s follow-on project, ASSURE, was approved in September 2023 and is due to finish in 2028. It targets 20 islands with about 20 MW of solar, 40 MWh of storage and 6 MW of extra rooftop solar, and it includes pilots of floating solar, small wind and ocean energy.

For homes, the government launched the Magey Solar programme in January 2025 with FENAKA, offering 3 kW and 5 kW rooftop systems to households on its grids, with surplus power measured through net metering. The government has also invited investors to build 100 MW of residential rooftop solar.

At COP29 in 2024, the Maldives committed to generating 33% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2028. Official figures show how fast things are moving and how far there is still to go:

For comparison, ADB puts total installed generating capacity, mostly diesel, at about 600 MW. Estimates of how much new renewable capacity is needed to reach 33% vary between sources, from about 300 MW of solar (ADB) to 450 MW (the minister, January 2025), partly because batteries and demand growth are counted differently. Large-scale battery storage, of the order of 158 MW, is also being planned to keep island grids stable as more solar comes online.

The main hurdles, as ADB describes them, are the cost of borrowing, rising project costs, growing diesel subsidies and the simple shortage of land on small islands.

On a local island you will see:

• Solar panels on roofs of schools, mosques, council buildings, harbour sheds and some homes. Larger arrays sit on the powerhouse compound or on a cleared plot near the edge of the island.
• The powerhouse. The low hum of generators is part of island life. On Dhiffushi, power comes from a new STELCO powerhouse that opened in 2025 with about three times the capacity of the old plant, built to keep up with the island’s growth and its guesthouses. It is a working site, not an attraction.
• Hulhumalé’s solar. If you pass through the airport area, look for the panels along the link road and on rooftops in Hulhumalé.
• Occasional power cuts. They are uncommon but can happen, especially during storms. A phone light or small torch is useful. Our plugs, voltage and power guide covers sockets and adaptors.

Power also makes drinking water: many islands rely on energy-hungry desalination (see drinking water in the Maldives).

On a small island, the electricity in your room comes from the same generators as your hosts’ homes, the school and the health centre. A few habits make a real difference:

• Use air conditioning wisely. It is the biggest load in most rooms. Set it to around 24–26°C, close doors and windows while it runs, and switch it off when you go out.
• Switch off lights and fans when you leave the room. Many guesthouses use key-card switches; don’t leave the card in.
• Unplug chargers once your devices are full.
• Take shorter showers. Hot water and desalinated water both use power.
• Dry towels and swimwear in the sun instead of using a dryer, and reuse towels for a few days.
• Refill water bottles where your host offers filtered water.
• Head outside in the evenings. See evenings on a local island.

For more on travelling lightly, read our responsible travel guide.