Renewable Energy actions in the Pacific region will be showcased at a special exhibition during the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Auckland next week.
The Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement through Renewable Energy Project (PIGGAREP) is helping to remove the barriers to renewable energy use in 11 Pacific islands countries through providing both technical and financial support.
"We look forward to being able to show the advances taking place in the Pacific region," said Ms. Sili'a Kilepoa Ualesi, the project manager of PIGGAREP.
"The Pacific region takes its commitment to renewable energy seriously. While we may only contribute 0.03 percent of the world's total greenhouses gases, we are amongst the most vulnerable and through the PIGGAREP we aim to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by a further 33%. We have a moral responsibility to do our part in addressing the causes of climate change."
The role of PIGGAREP in the Pacific and some of the positive renewable energy actions to happen thus far will be shared with many at the exhibition. Other key achievements to happen to date include -
- 50 solar home systems were installed in Santa Ana, the Solomon Islands, bringing electricity to over 300 people; a solar water pump installed in 2008 in Calofornia, Guadalcanal helps to bring water to 200 people attending the rural training centre school nearby and; a biofuel and solar hybrid renewable energy system for the Aola Health Centre that brings power to the only health centre in the Guadalcanal.
- The Cook Islands has an electricity target of 50% renewable energy by 2015 and 100% by 2020. While this may seem like an extreme target, according to the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Hon. Henry Puna – "it is ambitious but it is not impossible."
- Samoa has secured funding to install a 400 kilo watt solar PV grid connected system for electricity supply for which PIGGAREP is supporting the feasibility study. This will mean that 400 kilo watts of power supply will come from renewable energy sources.
This project is executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The exhibition will be at the The Cloud on Queens Wharf in Auckland City and will be open to the public from Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 September.