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Developer Signs 20-Year Deal to Build and Run 15 MW of Solar on 13 Islands

Sino Soar Hybrid Technology will finance and own the plants, ten of them in Laamu Atoll, and sell the power to STELCO. Neither the price nor the investment has been disclosed.

By Maldives Today ·
Two men in shirts and ties sign documents at a table draped in white, in front of a screen reading "Signing Ceremony of … Power Purchasing Agreements … October 2026".
Climate Change, Environment and Energy Minister Ali Shareef (right) and a Sino Soar Hybrid Technology representative sign agreements for the 15 MW ARISE solar project on 26 October 2026. (photo credit: Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy)

The News

A private developer will build, finance and run solar plants with a combined 15 MW of capacity on 13 islands for 20 years, under agreements signed on Monday, 26 October, the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy said.

The ministry and the State Electric Company (STELCO) signed the agreements with Sino Soar Hybrid Technology. The plants are the 15 MW solar sub-project of Accelerating Renewable Energy Integration and Sustainable Energy (ARISE), a World Bank-backed programme run by the ministry.

Two documents were signed: a power purchase agreement and an implementation agreement. In the tender's design, the power purchase agreement is between the developer and the utility that buys the electricity, and the implementation agreement is between the developer and the government, according to a note for bidders published by the Finance Ministry. STELCO is the buyer.

Sino Soar will design, build, finance, own and operate the plants for 20 years and then hand them over. The ministry did not disclose the price STELCO will pay for the electricity, the cost of the plants or when they will start producing power.

Know More

The plants are ground-mounted and split into two lots, according to the tender notice. Ten of the 13 islands are in Laamu Atoll.

Lot Capacity Islands
1 2 MWp L. Hithadhoo, L. Kunahandhoo, L. Maabaidhoo, L. Maamendhoo, L. Maavah, L. Dhanbidhoo
2 13 MWp L. Isdhoo, L. Kalaidhoo, L. Fonadhoo, L. Gan, Lh. Naifaru, Ga. Villingili, Sh. Funadhoo

The Finance Ministry first invited bids on 22 July 2024, on the environment ministry's behalf and under World Bank procurement rules. After two extensions, bids closed on 17 December 2024, about 22 months before the signing.

Bids were scored on technical quality and on the tariff offered for 20 years, the bidder note says. The winner receives a one-time capital subsidy, called a tariff buy-down, when the plants begin commercial operation, and the buyer must take all the contracted energy.

An escrow account holding six months of payments secures the developer, and the government will refill it if the buyer defaults. The government also guarantees compensation if the contract is terminated. The developer may seek political-risk cover from MIGA, the World Bank Group's guarantee agency.

Step Back

The ministry said that once the plants are running, cumulative solar capacity will reach 34 MW, imported diesel use will fall by 15 million litres a year, and the country will save MVR180 million a year. It did not say which projects the 34 MW includes.

The ministry's own ARISE project page gives the same 15 million litres and MVR180 million as the expected yearly savings from the whole ARISE programme, which aims for up to 36 MW of private solar. On 22 July, the ministry said 6.36 MWp of solar and 10 MWh of batteries opened on 25 islands in Raa and Baa atolls would save more than 3 million litres of diesel a year.

ARISE is valued at US$107.4 million and is due to be completed by 31 December 2027, the project page says. It also pays for about 40 MWh of battery storage and 140 km of power lines. The World Bank said in 2023 that the programme combined US$12.4 million from its International Development Association, US$30 million from the Clean Technology Fund, US$20 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and US$45 million of private investment.

Under ARISE's predecessor, ASPIRE, a 5 MW solar project in Malé drew a price of 10.2 US cents per unit of electricity in 2020, and an 11 MW outer-island project drew 9.8 US cents in 2022, the World Bank said.

The ministry lists FENAKA Corporation as ARISE's national partner. President Mohamed Muizzu announced on 7 September that FENAKA's utility services would move to STELCO, as Maldives Today has reported. The government's target is to generate 33% of electricity from renewable sources by 2028.

The signing is separate from a memorandum of understanding the ministry signed on 19 October with Zhejiang Qingtian Solar Energy Technology for a different 15 MW solar system with 15 MWh of battery storage. That agreement named no site, cost or timeline.

The Record

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