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    Asian Development Bank Supplying $15M to aid Solomon Islands’ Shift from Diesel to Renewables

    Sept. 17, 2024
    The project will finance new solar farms in Guadalcanal and Malaita province, along with a utility-scale grid-connected energy storage system in Honiara. Nearly all of Solomon Islands’ grid power is diesel generated.
    Solar hybrid project 2017 at Taro. Image credit Solomon Power
    Solar hybrid project 2017 at Taro. Image credit Solomon Power

    The Solomon Islands of Oceania are an archipelago with a rich history, some of it not so good for the residents there.

    A new partnership could lead the way toward decarbonization and energy independence for the nation of nearly 750,000 people spread across dozens of islands.

    The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Solomon Islands along with other partners will enable Solomon Islands transition to renewable energy with a transformational project, the Solomon Islands Renewable Energy Development Project, to accelerate renewable energy generation and battery storage system installation, support power sector reforms, and promote private sector participation in the renewable energy generation.

    “This project will reduce dependency on expensive fossil fuel imports and constitute an important milestone for Solomon Islands on its transition to renewable energy,” said ADB’s Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office Regional Director, Shane Rosenthal. “It will install additional solar capacity in the country and deliver the largest grid-connected battery storage system in the Pacific, which is a crucial first step in expanding grid-connected renewable energy through private sector investment.”

    While the project is funded by a $10 million concessional loan, a $5 million grant is secured from the Asian Development Fund, which considers ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries. Moreover, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and Solomon Power are providing $10 million each and the Government of Solomon Islands is offering $7 million in exempted duties and taxes.

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    Almost all of Solomon Islands’ grid electricity is diesel generated, with renewables accounting around 2 percent of the energy mix. The project backs other ADB energy sector interventions helping install more renewable energy generation, including the Tina River Hydropower Project as well as another project converting five diesel-powered provincial grids to solar hybrid systems.

    The renewable energy project will:

    • finance new solar farms in Guadalcanal and Malaita province, along with a utility-scale grid-connected energy storage system in Honiara;
    • pilot a business model for rooftop solar systems at two regional schools;
    • support Solomon Islands’ power sector reforms including identifying and preparing one private sector renewable project; and
    • accelerate progress in gender equality, tackling climate change, fostering climate and disaster resilience, environmental sustainability and improving governance.

    Utility Solomon Power has developed several solar projects in the recent past dating back to 2017. Those solar farms (pictured) were built in the Seghe Western and Choiseul provinces. 

     Solomon Islands was the site of numerous World War II battles between the United States and Japan, including the Battle of Guadalcanal. The nation still suffers from a lack of infrastructure and health and well-being initiatives, according to reports.

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    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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