Six Senses Goes Solar
Soneva Fushi, Six Senses’ flagship resort in the Maldives, is well on its way to achieving its commitment of a net zero carbon footprint.
Six Senses recently installed a 70 KW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant system that has been operating successfully for eight months. Sonu Shivdasani, Six Senses’ CEO and chairman, called it a “significant first step” in the company’s commitment to the Maldives government.
“We are hoping that our example will lead other resorts in the Maldives and other island grids around the world to also pursue solar PV as a low-cost clean energy alternative,” said Shivdasani.
Following a successful trial period, Six Senses now plans to quadruple the size of the system to provide almost half of the resort’s electricity.
Dr. Lounette Dyer, who heads Six Senses’ renewable energy efforts, says the project proves that solar PV “just doesn’t make good environmental sense, it also makes good economic sense. Solar PV is no longer a luxury of rich nations with high subsidies. It is now a necessary for poor developing countries that require energy to advance and are tied to global oil prices.”
The grid party system, the first in the region to use “best of breed” thin film PV panels, was fabricated in easy-to-assemble kit form by Beck Electric of Germany.
The entire system, including tools required for assembly, was shipped and installed by a team of 10 local workers.
