New grant opportunity launched for renewable projects in Blue Pacific

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Funding opportunities are available to fund renewable energy projects in the Pacific islands region through a partnership between the Pacific Trade Invest New Zealand (PTI NZ) and Camco Clean Energy (Camco).

“Pacific island countries face multiple challenges in the energy sector central to which is a heavy reliance on expensive imported diesel, growing commercial and industrial demand which tend to outpace grid capacity rural off-grid communities in remote outer islands," PTI NZ Trade Commissioner Glynis Miller said.

In addition, Miller added, around $5.2B of investment is needed by 2030 to enable the Pacific island countries to meet their targets.

“PTI NZ, an agency of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, has specifically chosen to work with Camco- they are a notable world leader working with regions that have projects requiring significant investment,” said Miller.

PTI NZ and Camco will deliver their second renewable energy webinar on Nov. 30 (11 a.m. – 2 p.m. NZST) to explore one of the fundamental barriers to financing renewable energy projects in the Pacific.

PTI NZ said the need and opportunities within the Blue Pacific were identified through collaboration between PTI NZ, Camco and regional governments and organizations. In response, Camco developed TIDES (Transforming Island Development through Electrification and Sustainability), a new blended finance vehicle for renewable energy in the Pacific.

The PTI NZ webinar being held next Tuesday will introduce the TIDES blending finance platform for the Blue Pacific, discuss the fundamentals of bankability for renewable energy projects and deliver an overview of strategies for developers to make their projects more bankable.

It will also describe key components of TIDES including capacity building and technical assistance which are aimed at supporting developers.

"(Pacific island) governments do not have the financial capacity to achieve this alone. Therefore, it is important to bring new financing solutions to the table to attract private capital for renewable energy projects and complement grant funding in the region,” Camco Managing Director Geoff Sinclair said.

“We are pleased that PTI NZ brought to our attention the huge opportunities that can be found within the Blue Pacific. Through this beneficial relationship came the creation of TIDES. As the newest private sector financing facility, designed for the Pacific, TIDES aims to help reduce the region’s reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels for energy," he added.

Sinclair said the gap is not caused by an inherent bias against the Pacific on the part of investors, but rather a lack of bankable projects which meet the financing and regulatory standards required by foreign investors.

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