Maldives, Tuesday 15^th May 2018: The world’s first pilot project to harness electricity from powerful surf waves officially launched at Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives recently. The project is the brainchild of Professor Tsumoru Shintake of The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEE) of the Republic of Maldives and Kokyo Tatemono Company Limited (Kokyo) of Tokyo, Japan. The project involves testing prototypes of the Wave Energy Converter units (WEC-units) in the Maldives with the aim of supplying sustainable energy and reducing carbon emissions.

Professor Tsumoru Shintake, leader of the Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit, OIST, and his colleagues designed special WEC-units which can capture energy from surf waves along the shore-line and convert it into usable electricity, as part of the wave energy project which was launched in 2013. Professor Shintake’s WEC-units have been carefully designed, taking inspiration from nature: the blade design and materials are inspired by dolphin fins and the flexible posts resemble flower stems. One of the principal features of the WEC-units is that the generating turbines are designed to be located at the mean sea level to harness the wave energy most effectively.

Wave energy is the most suitable form of renewable energy for the Maldives. The fact that wave power provides a continuous stream of energy gives it a major advantage over other types of renewable energy, such as solar panels which cannot generate electricity at night. This reduces the requirement for energy storage systems which can be large and expensive to develop. This is particularly important in a location like the Maldives that has many hotels and remote villages. In the hotels, facilities running throughout the night, such as laundry, desalination water plants, and air-conditioners, are one of the biggest sources of energy consumption.

In photo: Standing Left to right – Joseph Della Gatta (GM, Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives), Kohei Yamashita (Kokyo Tatemono), Hon Minister Thoriq Ibrahim (Minister of Environment & Energy, Maldives) Professor Tsumoru Shintake (The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University) and Abdul Matheen Mohamed (State Minister for Ministry of Environment and Energy, Maldives)

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Notes to Editors:

About Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives: Located in the South Male Atoll, a mere 40 minutes by speedboat, Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives is a 32 acre property housing 160 contemporary, comfortable and chic beach and over water villas. The Kandoo Kids Club – one of the larger children’s facilities in the Maldives with an outdoor splash pool and daily activities coupled with the “Kids Stay & Eat Free” program makes this the perfect retreat for family travelers. The Kandooma Spa by COMO Shambhala, the proximity to world class diving and surf spots guided by the onsite PADI 5 star dive center and surf school and “The Marquee” – a fully-fledged indoor event space catering up to 180 attendees mean that there is something for everyone here at Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives.

About Holiday Inn: Started over 60 years ago and with nearly 1,200 hotels worldwide today, the Holiday Inn brand is the most widely recognised lodging brand in the world. During that time, it was the first hotel brand to launch a computerised reservation system in 1965, one of the first international hotel brands to establish a presence in China in 1984 and the first to take an online booking in 1995.

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