Well, President Obama may not have accepted our offer of free solar panels, but President Nasheed did!
Sungevity hit the ground running in the Maldives yesterday. We’re there to install 11.5 kW of solar power on the roof of President Mohamed Nasheed’s residence, “Muleaage.”
President Nasheed accepted Sungevity’s offer to heads of state around the world to solar power their residences. The installation, the first of its kind in the capitol city of Malé, will help the Maldives meet its goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2020.
The Maldives is at the epicenter of our planetary emergency. Its chain of 1192 islands would be inundated by a mere one-meter rise in sea levels, displacing its 400,000 residents and triggering a massive climate refugee crisis. The 48 solar panels will offset 195 tons of carbon and save the Maldives $300,000 in electricity costs over the life of the system. Sungevity is proud to support an outspoken climate change activist like President Nasheed and to help a developing nation transition to renewable energy.
Sungevity is designing, installing and supporting the system for free. From halfway around the world, Sungevity’s Remote Solar Design Team was able to configure the rooftop array. Now, a team of eight Sungevity installers are on the ground (or on the roof) at Muleaage installing the system. They’ll be joined up on the roof by President Nasheed on October 7, in observance of the 10/10/10 Global Work Party sponsored by Solar on the White House partner 350.org.
Sungevity is grateful for the generous support of our project partners: LG donated the panels; Ironridge donated the mounting system; and KACO donated the inverter.
Stay tuned throughout the week for daily updates on the installation and photos of this island paradise.
–Erica Etelson
Sungevity Blog 