Marshall Islands

The sustainable solution is a Pacific first, in a nation which is particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

The solar system will save 236,000 litres of diesel imports and will offset some 652 tons of carbon generation per annum.

In August 2016, Sunergise announced the launch of an innovative solar power generation plant designed to collect BOTH rainwater and solar energy for the people of Majuro in The Republic of Marshall Islands.

Paul Makumbe, CEO of Sunergise International says, “The people of the Republic of Marshall Islands are amongst the first to be impacted by climate change and sea level rising. For the Marshallese, sustainability is a way of life as resources in the archipelago are scarce. Replacing fossil fuel generation makes more than just economic sense.”

Mr Makumbe adds, “Fuel energy and fresh water are vital for the people of the Pacific to thrive, but they’re scarce in island communities, and climate change is exacerbating the problem. The Sunergise system is designed to collect energy from the sun and as well as much needed rainwater and can be scaled to serve other islands around the South Pacific.”

The 600KW solar system is equivalent in size to about 100 residential systems, stretching a kilometre around the catchment area. It will serve the 3,915 Marshalls Energy Company (MEC) customers currently connected to the grid. Located on the embankments of Majuro’s water reservoirs, the plant is specially designed with weather seals between modules and aligned to also support the collection of rainwater. The rainwater is then fed into the existing reservoirs that provide much needed fresh water to sustain the atoll’s population.

The solar project was financed under the UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, in a program managed by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company.

See the full story on TV3 Newshub here.