Additional funding from REnew Pacific
At Pre-COP31 in Nadi, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy announced an additional A$1 million for It's Time Foundation.
On 5 October, at a joint press conference in Denarau with Fiji's Minister for Environment, Lynda Tabuya, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, announced A$1 million for the It's Time Foundation through REnew Pacific, an Australian Government program delivered by Palladium for the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.
It is our second REnew Pacific project, following the first that brought solar power to more than 30 remote schools. Working with Fiji's Ministry of Education, we will install solar with battery storage at 13 remote schools and their teachers' homes. Each school will also receive Starlink internet, laptops and smart TVs, benefiting more than 1,200 students.
The announcement was part of a package worth around A$13 million, made as Fiji and Tuvalu hosted Pre-COP31, the meeting of ministers ahead of this year's UN climate summit.
New systems, and older ones brought up to standard
Some of the schools will be new installs. Others already have solar, but on much older systems that have reached the end of their working life. We will upgrade those to the same standard as our new installs, so every school can join The Solar Fund (Fiji), which pays for remote monitoring, servicing and repairs for as long as the systems run.
Half a million more
Soon after the announcement, an anonymous international funder pledged a further A$500,000 to the work. Together that makes A$1.5 million for Fiji's remote schools.
Part of a wider push across the Pacific
Two other new REnew Pacific projects were announced alongside ours:
- In Papua New Guinea's Oro Province, Sola PayGo and MiBank will bring pay-as-you-go solar home systems, streetlights and education servers to around 55,000 people in 19 communities between Popondetta and the Kokoda Track.
- In Bougainville, Save the Children and the Autonomous Bougainville Government's Department of Education will install solar and batteries at five remote schools in Tinputz, with a school-managed solar lantern scheme for up to 2,000 nearby homes.
Australia also announced A$7.29 million to place grid-modelling engineers with Pacific power utilities and train energy professionals across the region, and signed a memorandum of understanding with Vanuatu on bringing more solar into its grid.
Some Pacific countries spend as much as a quarter of their GDP on diesel, so every school, village and grid that switches to the sun keeps money in the islands as well as cutting emissions.
We're grateful to the Australian Government, REnew Pacific and our anonymous international funder for their confidence in the work.