How one tiny island nation is replacing fossil fuels with renewable power

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The New York Times or enjoy below

🗞️ Driving the news: Assisted by the World Bank the Maldives is beginning to deploy renewable energy projects across the country
• Prior to this, the country used to depend primarily on imported diesel fuel for electricity due to the high upfront cost of going renewable

🔭 The context: Developing countries struggle to switch to clean power due to lack of affordable financing, causing them to continue using fossil fuels
• The World Bank has noted that these nations are trapped by the high upfront costs of transitioning to renewable energy

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: As global efforts intensify to combat climate change, transitioning to renewable energy is paramount
• Yet, the cost of financing these projects in countries with political instability or significant debt is a barrier

⏭️ What's next: There's a need for more development banks to mitigate the risks of renewable energy projects to entice private investors
• After the World Bank offered to shoulder potential risks, the cost of a major solar project in the Maldives dropped significantly, highlighting the effectiveness of such measures

💬 One quote: "Not surprisingly, producing a unit of electricity with solar power on a sunny day is vastly cheaper than producing a unit of electricity using diesel." (Shauna Aminath, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Technology for the Maldives)

📈 One stat: With support from investors, the Maldives plans to power approximately 13,000 households using solar energy, potentially saving $20 million annually on diesel fuel

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