Renewable energy pioneer Alternergy on Monday said that a solar PV and battery storage project in Palau, which is expected to commence commercial operations by April 2023, was nearing completion.
In a statement, Alternergy said a team from the governments of Palau and Australia inspected the progress of the project on December 15.
“Our Palau Solar PV + Battery Storage Project is already 65 percent complete. We expect to commence commercial operations by April 2023,” said Vince Pérez, Alternergy and Solar Pacific’s chairman.
SPPP is a subsidiary of Solar Pacific. The hybrid project has a capacity of 15.3-megawatts-peak (MWp) solar PV and 12.9-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system with technologies coming from top-tier global manufacturers.
“Our Palau project builds a strong partnership with the governments of Palau through a long-term power supply agreement (PSA) with the Palau Public Utilities Corp. (PPUC) and with Australia through project financing under the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP),” said Mike Lichtenfeld, chief executive officer of Solar Pacific.
PPUC and SPPP signed a 20-year PSA which is extendable for another five years. Export Finance Australia, through the AIFFP, extended a total financing package of US$22.0 million for the project.
“Alternergy and Solar Pacific saw the opportunity to explore the electricity market outside the Philippines, and we are honored to be the first independent power producer in the Republic of Palau. The opportunity to provide renewable power to the Republic of Palau, one of our neighboring Pacific island nations, is consistent with our vision to power the islands with renewable energy resources,” Pérez said.
The Palau Solar PV + Battery Storage Project will provide up to 23,000 MWh of clean and renewable power to Palau, representing more than 20 percent of its annual energy demand, to help achieve its renewable energy target of 45 percent by 2025.
