Sunlight, Circuits & Island Livelihoods
SAFER Project – Strengthening Activism for Environmental Rights
Supported by the European Union, this blog-post series launched by Land Sea Maldives marks the beginning of our investigation into the hidden costs of environmental damage — how these costs affect livelihoods and what growth-opportunities may be embedded in change. This piece in the series, focuses on renewable energy on Maldivian islands and its potential to link environment, livelihoods and growth.
Introduction
In the Maldives, where many islands rely on imported diesel for electricity and face high-energy costs, the shift to renewable energy is more than climate good practice: it represents a livelihood opportunity and economic transformation.¹ As solar panels, hybrid-grids and green-mobility become viable, island communities may capture new jobs, cost-savings and income streams — turning what was an environmental cost into a livelihood growth engine.
The Environment-Energy-Livelihood Link
Several key points illustrate how renewables connect environment and livelihoods on islands:
Reducing fuel-dependence: Many inhabited islands pay high fuel import and generator operational costs. By integrating solar, wind or battery-storage solutions, islands can lower energy costs — freeing up resources for local enterprise and household savings.¹
Island employment & skills: Setting up, maintaining and operating renewable systems (rooftop solar, hybrid mini-grids, storage) creates local technical jobs, training opportunities and small enterprise development.²
Supporting other livelihoods: Stable, lower-cost clean power helps guest-houses, small industries, cold-storage, food-processing or fisheries operations to grow — reducing overheads and enabling value-addition on islands rather than off-island.¹
Hidden Costs & Growth Constraints
Without action, the costs and lost opportunities include:
High electricity tariffs and fuel-import subsidies absorb household and business income — reducing capacity for investment in livelihoods or local enterprise.¹
Technical skills, local supply-chains and only limited island-based renewable infrastructure mean many jobs and growth-opportunities are missed, with benefits captured off-island.²
Islands still reliant on diesel face environmental and health-costs (pollution, maintenance) and may struggle to compete for tourism, cold-storage or high-value services — limiting growth potential.¹
In other words, the “hidden cost” isn’t just environmental: it’s livelihood foregone, business-growth delayed and local value-chains unreleased.
Capturing Opportunity & Growth
Maldives has set a pathway: by 2028, the government aims for 33 % of its electricity from renewables, with solar PV and battery-storage expansions.³ These targets create frameworks for livelihood growth in island communities.
Strategies to align environment and livelihoods include:
Prioritising local-level installation of solar and hybrid-systems on inhabited islands — enabling local technicians, small businesses and job creation.
Using clean-power to support value-added island industries (cold-storage for fish/produce, small manufacturing, guest-house services) that benefit from lower power cost and reliable supply.
Training local youth in renewable-energy skills, creating pathways in installation, maintenance and management of hybrid grids, and thus retaining talent locally rather than migrating.
Questions for Island-Level Inquiry
Does your island rely heavily on diesel power? Are electricity costs high for households or businesses?
Are there solar panels, hybrid grids, or battery-storage projects on your island? Who installs/maintains them — are locals involved?
Has clean-power improved business viability (guest-houses, fisheries, processing) on your island — or is there potential for new enterprise if power becomes cheaper/more reliable?
What training or livelihood programmes exist to support local youth or entrepreneurs in solar-/clean-energy work?
Conclusion
For Maldivian islands, renewable-energy isn’t just about climate mitigation — it’s about livelihood transformation. Lower energy cost, local jobs, reliable power and enterprise growth are linked. Under the SAFER Project’s investigative focus, we recognise the chain: environment → energy system transformation → livelihood opportunity & growth. As islands shift from diesel dependence to clean-power, they unlock not only cost-savings but new pathways for jobs, enterprise and resilient communities.
References
Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy. (2024). Road Map for the Energy Sector 2024-2028. Government of Maldives. Retrieved from https://www.environment.gov.mv/v2/download/4333/¹
United Nations Development Programme. (2025, January 26). Affordable, reliable and modern clean energy services – Maldives. UNDP Maldives. Retrieved from https://www.undp.org/maldives/stories/affordable-reliable-and-modern-clean-energy-services-maldives²
Asian Development Bank. (2023). Paving the way for a just energy transition in Maldives. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/cop/cop29/paving-the-way-for-just-energy-transition-maldives³
