ADB presents a briefing of a planned procurement package for ADB-funded renewable energy projects in Kiribati and Tuvalu. This innovative regional procurement approach will involve the introduction of the climate-adapted floating PV technology and application of the generated energy to productive uses under the Tuvalu Increasing Access to Renewable Energy Project Additional Financing (IAREP AF) and the proposed Kiribati South Tarawa Renewable Energy Project (Phase 2) (STREP 2).  

Due to the land constraints in most Pacific Island Countries, the deployment of solar PV plants floated near-shore on lagoons and other water surfaces exploit solar resource potential without using scarce land spaces. Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FPV) Systems are an adaptive technology requiring no dry land that can rise with rising sea levels, ride waves and float with the tides, and are resilient by design due to the flexible cables and mooring system. The proposed regional procurement approach will enable standardization of equipment as well as economies of scale, as envisioned in ADB’s differentiated approach for small island developing states.