FINOLHU Villas is set to become the world’s first luxury resort using solely solar power when it opens in the Maldives come mid-January 2015.
The Club Med-managed property at Gasfinolhu island, featuring 52 luxury bungalows and a solar power system, is 40 minutes away from Male, the resort’s officials said.
The resort will be Club Med’s second facility in the Maldives after the 240-room Club Med Kani, located just five minutes away.
According to Maldivian media reports, the resort’s many solar panels cover the walkway from the jetty to the reception, as well as the rooftops of utility buildings.
The panels are capable of producing 1,100 kilowatts at power peak, while the island at full occupancy only requires 600 kilowatts at peak load.
The resort’s power system is automated and computer programmed, and can switch from solar to diesel power when necessary, particularly when there is continuous rain and no sunlight to generate solar power.
Excess solar power is stored in batteries during the day, which is then used to power the resort at night.
Tourism-dependent Maldives has over 100 resorts which consume 49 per cent of the country’s annual diesel imports. The authorities have been looking at alternate energy options and have been encouraging resorts to do the same.
