Solomons mitigation

GCF pumps US$86m into alternative energy

WITH high vulnerability to climate change impacts, Solomon Islands has placed equal importance on mitigation and adaptation to reach their Nationally Determined Contributions. The country has committed to reduce emissions by 12 per cent below 2015 level by 2025 and 30 per cent below 2015 level by 2030 inevitably with a strong focus on the energy sector. Solomon Islands Acting Director Climate Change Division, Hudson Kauhiona, said one of the major and biggest projects under its belt was the Tina River Hydro Project that “should displace two thirds of all the diesel that is used for powering the whole of Honiara.”

“We are working very closely with energy and power utility here to extract clean energy and further national efforts towards a greener and cleaner economy,” he said. Tina River Hydro being the first largescale sustainable energy project in Solomon Islands has secured US$86 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to support the implementation of the renewable energy project. Of the GCF funding, US$70 million is a low-interest loan towards the cost of building the hydro power facility.