Pacific island nation charts path to diesel freedom
The world’s smallest island nation is seeking to diversify its energy system from diesel after signing a groundbreaking renewable energy partnership.
The Republic of Nauru has signed a memorandum of understanding with Australian renewable energy company Smart Commercial Energy to explore a major solar and battery project.
Nauru Utilities Corporation chief executive Anthony Dimapilis said the oil crisis triggered by the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz had brought energy security for his country into sharp focus.
“We want to have further discussions about getting us off this fuel dependency,” he told AAP after the memorandum of understanding was finalized at the Smart Energy Council’s annual conference in Sydney.
Nauru, like many other small Pacific island nations bordering Australia heavily dependent on diesel For energy production, it is exposed to increases in oil prices that occurred after the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Within the scope of the new regulation, which is expected to bring the small country with a population of 13,000 closer to 100 percent renewable energy sources, 18 MW solar energy and 40 MWh battery storage solutions are proposed.
The plan is to deliver this through a Power Purchase Agreement that will see Smart Commercial Energy funding, build and operate the infrastructure, providing an established pathway for Nauru to eventually own and operate the system.
Huon Hoogesteger, founder and managing director of Smart Commercial Energy, said the project will halve the cost of electricity from day one and reduce reliance on costly and emissions-intensive diesel.
The investment structure would also keep returns in-house, rather than lending and moving wealth out as has been done in the past.
“They can actually control their own destiny,” Mr Hoogesteger told AAP.
“The money it generates, which is a great return, goes back into the country so they can continue to build infrastructure with the profits they make from it.”
The goal is to have roughly 95 percent of the country rely on renewable energy through this relationship, recognizing that some diesel generation may be required to support the network during extended periods of cloudy weather.
Nauru, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have pledged to achieve this target 100 percent renewable energy by 2030Many other island states are also setting ambitious targets.
While energy security is a key driver behind the region’s clean energy push, Pacific islands are also vulnerable to rising sea levels and other climate impacts and have long played a major role in international negotiations on limiting global warming.
According to Smart Commercial Energy, the MoU marks the beginning of technical and commercial research and no timeline has been given for when further steps might be taken.
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