On 25 January 2024, His Excellency the President of Fiji Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere inaugurated an 18.25 kW solar generation system at the Fiji State House. The system – funded by the India-UN Development Fund, and delivered in close partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – will supply the House with annual clean energy production of approximately 20,000 units of electricity. This will save 7,400 Fijian dollars of annual spending on energy costs.
This demonstration project, launched in December 2023, involves South-South coalition-building among 11 Pacific Island Countries, and joint advocacy to create awareness among different stakeholders on the importance of solar energy as a source of clean, renewable energy. Work to install solar systems at the State Houses of partner countries is currently underway.
Given sea-level rise, climate change is the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the people of the 11 Pacific Island Countries involved in the project – Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
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