Masdar starts four Pacific Islands solar projects
Construction has begun on four solar plants in Kiribati, Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu that will deliver 1.8 MW of clean energy to the island countries
Construction has begun on four solar plants in Kiribati, Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu that will deliver 1.8 MW of clean energy to the island countries.
The projects are being financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the UAE renewable energy company Masdar has commenced construction on the Pacific Islands projects.
The US$50 million, 1.8 MW project will see solar power added to the four countries energy mix as part of the UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund.
The four PV plants will contribute to fuel savings of around US$2 million per year according to estimates.
The move is Masdar’s second solar foray into the region after the company completed the La’a Lahi ‘Big Sun’ solar plant in Tonga in November 2013.
Masdar also commissioned a wind farm in Samoa in August this year as part of the UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund.
The fund was launched in March 2013 by the UAE’s minister of foreign affairs, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan, with the country’s Directorate of Energy and Climate Change administering the funds and project planning.
2.8 MW of clean energy has been installed across six countries in the Pacific, mitigating the effects of 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel, or 4,450 tonnes of C02 emissions a year.
Masdar CEO Ahmad Belhoul said: “Access to clean energy is a pathway toward economic and social development. For Pacific Islands, which rely on imported fuel for electricity generation, renewable energy provides a viable alternative. In fact, wind and solar power projects deliver immediate savings while underpinning long-term energy security.”
Beyond the Pacific region, the UAE has upped its commitment to assist the development of solar and renewable energy projects in a handful of other locations, including a US$350 million collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to back projects in Sierra Leone and Ecuador, as well as the creation of a 15 MW solar PV plant in Mauritania and a large off-grid PG project in Afghanistan.