Riding One More Wave in The Direction of Sustainable Energy - Holiday Inn Kandooma
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
Riding One More Wave in The Direction of Sustainable Energy - Holiday Inn Kandooma
The iconic Kandooma Right, located right in front of luxury resort, Holiday Inn Kandooma Maldives, is one of the best breaks in the Maldives and attracts surfers from all around the world.
Now, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University together with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Maldives and Kokyo Tatemono Company Limited of Tokyo, Japan, have initiated a wave energy project in Maldives on this very famed surf break.
The experiment in the Maldives will involve installing two half-scaled WEC prototypes, with 0.35-meter diameter turbines, about 50 meters offshore along the shoreline of the Southeastern part of Kandooma Island.
The location has been carefully selected to have low environmental and visual impact and so it will be planted in the shallow waters, where there is no living coral and is situated behind a hotel, away from surfers and divers.
The introductory phase of this project is expected to commence in April 2021 and will generate 20 kilowatts of electricity, which is equivalent to to 2% - 3% in diesel consumption used for the power generators and ultimately will be increased to 20% - 30% in the future, from the Wave Energy Converter units.
Professor Tsumoru Shintake, leader of the Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit, OIST says that the Maldives is the ideal place to test the wave energy converters firstly because the country needs new ways to generate electricity and secondly, the country has vested interest in finding renewable energy sources and reducing carbon emissions. Professor Shintake highlights that the Maldives is a symbol of global climate change.
Let it be any time of the day or any weather condition, this sustainable form of energy will continuously be generated and help the resort reduce its carbon emissions. When implemented across the Maldives, the use of sustainability and clean energy will prove highly beneficial, given how susceptible Maldives is to the effects of climate change.