UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Government

Name of Ministry/Agency:

Country:	Kiribati

Initiative Title:	Solar Energy for Outer Islands Project-EU Funded

Internet links:

Scope:

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: End:

Lead Institution:	Kiribati Solar Energy Company

Stakeholders/Partners:	Ministry of internal Affairs and Social Development Ministry of Public Works and Utilities Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

Relevent issues:	- Energy and rural development - Increasing access to energy for the poor - Renewable energy including hydro power

Objectives/Challenges:

The overall objective of the project is: 1) To improve the living standards in the outer islands of Kiribati; and 2) reduce the migration to the capital South Tarawa.

Policy Options:

The programme is related to the international agreed goal and target and Kiribati,being a member to the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition, there are plans to increase the use of RE nationwide.

Summary:

The installation of 1710 solar home systems is now completed on 18 islands; the next phase will be the installation of 96 solar systems to the maneaba (village meeting hall) on the 18 islands. After the complete installation of the solar home systems the feedback collected by the energy survey carried out by the Energy Planning Unit of the Ministry of Public Works and Utilities are as follow: 1) The households no longer worry about buying kerosene for lighting, kerosene is used in the rural areas mainly for lighting as cooking is done using fuelwoods. 2) Safety from fire has been increased as compared to kerosene lantern which has higher chances of falling over by accident. Also, children and elderly house members can now turn on the light easily by the switch rather than the situation before when the adult would have to light the kerosene lantern or pressure lamp. House members can now carry on their work during the night under adequate lighting for their income related business: women working on handicrafts to generate sales and men preparing their fishing gear for the next day. When the husband goes fishing in the night, the family feels secure as the lighting also provide security, and when the husband returns the wife can easily prepare the food and help her husband because of the lights. Children can now study and work on school assignments under adequate lights. In terms of environment impact to the household, the GHG emissions due to using kerosene is now minimized. The health impacts have improved as well. Now, the household family can breathe fresh air under the solar lighting while before they used to breathe and smell the odour of burned kerosene every night while eating dinner or sitting close to the lanterns.