IRENA-REEEP side event at DIREC highlights access to energy from renewables in small islands
Delhi, 27.10.2010 - REEEP International Secretariat
The Pacific region covers 15 countries with 9 million people scattered across an area covering nearly 1/3 of the planet. This fact is both a challenge and an opportunity for providing energy services. The market is by any definition thin, and the level of energy access varies widely – from some countries with 100%, and others with just 10% or less. And without fossil fuel resources of their own, Pacific Islands are 95% reliant on imported petrol.
At the same time, the region is blessed with abundant solar radiation, so renewable energy has the potential to be the core solution to a host of problems including:
- dependence on imported energy sources
- exposure to highly volatile fossil fuel prices
- the environmental impact of fossil fuel energy generation and use.
In parallel to this, renewable energy can provide a transit route to low carbon development.
These challenges and possible solutions were the focus of a side event entitled Access to energy from renewables in small islands, co-hosted by IRENA and REEEP.
Hugo Lucas, IRENA’s Director for Policy, Capacity Building and Outreach, kicked off the session with a brief introduction and praised the benchmark practices of REEEP's programme cycle, noting that this high standard was something that IRENA should aspire to.
Denis Smedley, Counselor for Resources, Energy and Tourism (India), Australian High Commission also highlighted REEEP’s work in the Region and its importance for the Pacific. Eva Oberender, Director of REEEP South East Asia gave a short overview on the current status in Pacific Islands, the main barriers and the findings from several years work in the region.
National level example
Tonga has set up an Energy Roadmap in partnership with IRENA and REEEP, as well as many other organizations. Providing quality electricity options to outer island communities that are sustainable financially, environmentally and socially is the declared goal.
The idea was to evaluate all existing development efforts from all multilateral organisations and NGOs and create a plan intregrating all piecemeal efforts into one coherent framework. The resulting Roadmap has two major objectives:
- 50% electricity from renewable sources by 2012
- 50% reduction of overall cost of electricity
The learnings from this project are instructive, in that the key success factors behind the projects are
- Strong government leadership
- Active cooperation among all development partners
- Consideration of the whole electricity sector including petroleum, efficiency improvements and RE
- Data is very important and continuous updates are needed as data improves
Regional level example
The side event also highlighted the Framework for Action on Energy Security in the Pacific, which promotes a sector-wide approach, clarifying how regional services can assist countries in developing and implementing their own national plans, and shows how stakeholders should contribute to the process. The key recommendations for small island policies include
- address distributed institutional responsibility for the energy sector.
- build capacity and skills of energy officers
- gather data
- simplify regulatory and oversight process
- address gaps and inconsistencies in policy and legal framework
- involve the utilities and the private sector
- work collaboratively with development partners