FUNAFUTI, TUVALU (20 November 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Tuvalu today commissioned 500 kilowatt on-grid solar rooftops in Funafuti and a 2 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) that will provide clean and reliable electricity supply to the country’s capital and help achieve the government’s ambitious renewable energy targets.

Acting Minister of Transport, Energy, Communication and Innovation Tuafafa Latasi from the Government of Tuvalu led the commissioning ceremony. He was joined by ADB’s Pacific Subregional Office Regional Director Aaron Batten, ADB Senior Country Officer Letasi Iulai, and ADB Energy Sector Group Director Cindy Tiangco.

“The commissioning ceremony today marks an important step in ADB’s support for Tuvalu’s renewable energy transition,” said Mr. Batten. “The completed project is helping the government to transform energy supply in Funafuti and the outer islands from a manual diesel-based power system into a modern automated high renewable energy-based power system.”

The Tuvalu Increasing Access to Renewable Energy Project, which is under the Pacific Renewable Energy Investment Facility and comes with a $6 million support, is ADB’s first for Tuvalu’s energy sector. The project also installed solar photovoltaic system (PV) in the outer islands of Nui, Nukufetau, and Nukulaelae.

To further assist the country in achieving renewable energy targets, ADB approved an additional financing of $7.8 million in December 2023 with cofinancing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Ireland Trust Fund for Building Climate Change and Disaster Resilience in Small Island Developing States, and the Urban Resilience Trust Fund funded by the Government of the United Kingdom.

This first additional financing will fund the Pacific’s first near-shore marine floating solar PV (FPV) system on Funafuti’s Te Namo Lagoon. The climate-adapted FPV system will also support nature-based solutions for coastal protection and reef regeneration.

The project is also improving the quality, reliability, and climate resilience of power service; reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuels for generation; and will eventually reduce the cost of generation by partially replacing diesel power with solar power.

The project is funded by ADB through the Asian Development Fund, which provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries. It is cofinanced by the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Tuvalu.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.