Powering an island energy system by offshore floating technologies towards 100% renewables: A case for the Maldives

Low-lying coastal areas and archipelago countries are particularly threatened by the impacts of climate change. Concurrently, many island states still rely on extensive use of imported fossil fuels, above all diesel for electricity generation, in addition to hydrocarbon-based fuels to supply aviation and marine transportation. Land area is usually scarce and conventional renewable energy solutions cannot be deployed in a sufficient way. This research highlights the possibility of floating offshore technologies being able to fulfil the task of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy solutions in challenging topographical areas. On the case of the Maldives, floating offshore solar photovoltaics, wave power and offshore wind are modelled on a full hourly resolution in two different scenarios to deal with the need of transportation fuels: By importing the necessary, carbon neutral synthetic e -fuels from the world market, or by setting up local production capacities for e-fuels. Presented results show that a fully renewable energy system is technically feasible in 2030 with a relative cost per final energy of 120.3 euro/MWh and 132.1 euro/MWh, respectively, for the two scenarios in comparison to 105.7 euro/MWh of the reference scenario in 2017. By 2050, cost per final energy can be reduced to 77.6 euro/MWh and 92.6 euro/MWh, respectively. It is concluded that floating solar photovoltaics and wave energy converters will play an important role in defossilisation of islands and countries with restricted land area.

Automated summary

Low-lying coastal areas and archipelago countries are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts and heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels. This research explores the potential of floating offshore technologies to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy in challenging topographical areas.