News

2014-10-01

MASDAR DELIVERS SAMOA’S FIRST WIND FARM

Financing from UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund

The people of the Pacific nation of Samoa have taken a major step towards sustainability with the country’s first wind farm – thanks to Masdar and the UAE.

Samoan Prime Minister, the Hon. Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, has inaugurated wind farm which was implemented by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company. The 550 kW project is the second completed under the UAE $50 million UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund.

Last January the UAE signed partnerships with five Pacific Island countries to deploy renewable energy projects, financed from UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund. The solar and wind projects - in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu - represent one of the largest capital investments in the region’s clean energy sector. With grant financing from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), project completion is expected late this year.

All five projects are co-designed and implemented by Masdar in cooperation with each nation’s government. The La’a Lahi ‘Big Sun’ solar plant in Tonga, commissioned in November 2013, was the first to receive funding from the UAE.

The Samoan inauguration ceremony came two days before the start of the United Nations’ Third Conference on Small Island Developing States in Samoa’s capital, Apia.

The event was held September 1-4. The objective is to focus the world’s attention on a group of countries that remain a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities.

Economic, social benefits

HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, says: “This UAE supported project, and others like it underway across the Pacific, unlock significant economic and social benefits across the region. By providing local sources of renewable energy and reducing reliance on imported fuels, the UAE is helping countries like Samoa realize development ambitions, while also delivering valuable clean energy infrastructure.

“Renewable energy has the potential to be a major contributor to the energy mix in developing countries, acting as a catalyst for greater socio-economic opportunity. (This) inauguration reinforces the UAE’s commitment to advancing and deploying renewable energy globally.”

Located on the Samoan island of Upolu – home to nearly 75 per cent of the population – the wind farm will supply 1,500 MWh of power per year, delivering $475,000 in annual fuel cost savings. The innovative ‘cyclone proof’ project will also reduce the island’s carbon footprint by more than 1,000 tons CO2 each year.

Prime Minister Malielegaoi, adds: “The new wind farm delivered by Masdar and funded by the ADFD (Abu Dhabi Fund for Development) is a significant step forward in Samoa’s transition to a more sustainable energy future. This has been possible thanks to the support of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates, and their commitment to advancing sustainable development. Access to renewable energy is vital to our long-term economic development, even beyond the substantial gains realized by cutting our dependence on imported fuel.”

HE Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, said: “The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development is committed to working collaboratively with governments across the developing world, on projects that deliver tangible social and economic benefits.

“This innovative, bespoke project offers energy access to thousands of people, whilst demonstrating the validity of renewable energy as an economic enabler. We believe this project will unlock a significant opportunity for the Samoan government and its people.”

The UAE Pacific Partnership Fund supports the deployment of renewable energy across Pacific island states and represents one of the largest-ever investments in clean energy across the region.

The grant is managed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Energy and Climate Change. Masdar partners with each nation’s government and leads the design and implementation process. The 512 kW solar PV installation in Tonga, achieving nearly 70 per cent grid penetration, was the first project to be completed.

Cost competitive

The projects address the very high cost of diesel imports in Pacific countries, as well as delivering reductions in CO2 emissions. Research from the International Renewable Energy Agency indicates that renewable energy is now the most cost competitive source of power in the Pacific, but deployment has been constrained by access to finance and expertise. The cumulative 2.8 MW capacity of the six identified projects, will substitute 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel otherwise imported each year. The projects together will deliver annual savings of US$1.87m and avoid 4,450 tons of CO2.

The pioneering project in Samoa includes two 55 meters high turbines that can pivot at the base, and be lowered and locked in place in less than 1 hour. This collapsible design helps to avoid damage from the region’s numerous cyclones.

The five projects are estimated to save more than 1.2 million liters of diesel fuel annually and mitigate 3,030 tonnes of CO2 per year. They are also designed to demonstrate the viability of renewable energy in remote locations, where the International Renewable Energy Agency reports that renewable energy now out-competes traditional diesel imports on cost.

The $50 million UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund was launched in March 2013 by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan, the UAE’s minister of foreign affairs, and is administered by the ministry’s Directorate of Energy and Climate Change.

The fund covers project feasibility studies, engineering design, plant equipment supplies and installation, construction and operation and maintenance training.

The Pacific projects further expand the UAE’s efforts to deploy renewable energy as a form of development assistance.

Other notable Masdar projects include: a15-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which accounts for 10 per cent of the country’s energy capacity; a six-megawatt wind farm in the Seychelles that powers more than 2,100 homes (funded by ADFD); and a project in Afghanistan that supplies 600 residences with off-grid solar photovoltaic systems.

Comments () Views (14685 ) Print

Send To Friend