A pilot project under an Asian Development Bank (ADB) technical assistance was inaugurated today, bringing 24-hour solar power to this small rural island in Antique Province, Philippines.

ADB, through the Energy for All Initiative, supported the development of ROMELCO’s 30-kW solar diesel hybrid power generation facility that provides round-the-clock electricity to 244 households, a health center, a school, and local industries in Cobrador Island, a remote island in Romblon province.

Nearly 40% of households (500,000) in Nusa Tenggara Timur province have no electricity despite Indonesia achieving a national electrification rate of 98%. These include 60,000 households on the remote island of Sumba, which count among the country’s poorest and rely on polluting kerosene and firewood for lighting and cooking.Off-grid systems have become part of the solution in providing last-mile electricity on the island.

In this Project Result Case Study, see the impact of ADB’s interventions in the county including how it has strengthened its power sector to become more resilient and ready for the greater integration of renewable energy sources.

ADB is partnering with SOLshare, a start-up in Bangladesh that seeks to leverage the vast installed base of solar home systems and upgrade them through so-called ‘swarm electrification’.

VRM’s Au Minh Tuan shares lessons learned from the implementation of a mini-hydropower project in Viet Nam that brings power to remote rural communities.

The three mini-hydropower projects installed by the project in the country’s northern and central region was able to add and additional capacity of 32.5 megawatts of power generating 122 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year and connected 8,767 households in 36 villages, of which 827 households are new connections.

On 19 March the GCF Board approved $300 million allocation for the Green Recovery Program under the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility Fund that is being managed by ADB to help Southeast Asia embark on a climate-resilient, environmentally sustainable economic recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.The Program aims to leverage GCF and ADB funds to catalyze financing from development partners and private capital sources to support more than $4 billion worth of green infrastructure projects across the region.

In early 2020, ADB launched its first venture investment platform, ADB Ventures. It’s a venture capital investor with a difference. Like all VC investors, ADB Ventures will pursue commercial returns, but it will target investments in companies and technologies that deliver development impact in emerging markets in Asia and the Pacific.

On 13 September, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Electric Networks of Armenia Closed Joint-Stock Company (ENA) signed a $35 million deal to improve electricity distribution networks to ensure reliable electricity supply in Armenia, particularly in the provinces. The Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) administered by ADB, provided $15 million to supplement the $20 million loan from ADB.

ADB supports Pakistan’s goal of enhanced energy security through this Program. It's major components are: (i) expanding energy access through the construction of micro-hydro plants and solar power facilities  (ii) opening opportunities for women  (iii) strengthening institutional capacities  and (iv) promoting public sector energy efficiency.