A framework for technology cooperation to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in Pacific Island Countries

When considering renewable energy, Pacific Island Countries (PICs) focus on energy security and affordability as primary benefits. In Melanesia, access to modern energy services represents a major unfinished agenda. To that end, Pacific Energy Ministers have endorsed the Framework for Action on Energy Security in the Pacific (FAESP) in April 2011. The associated implementation plan (IPESP) was developed, however never formally endorsed. PICs have instead taken a pathway towards national energy transition roadmaps. This paper describes the current status of the energy sector in PICs, the main challenges and the barriers to the deployment of renewable energy and the role of international cooperation in accelerating deployment. In the context of this analysis, technology cooperation is treated as the sum of cooperation on “orgware”, software and hardware. These three dimensions are explored in the context of the Pacific energy sector, looking at how development finance (DF) is currently distributed among them. Looking at the key barriers identified and the areas where DF has been focused to date, this paper proposes a framework for removal of barriers to the deployment of renewable energy in the Pacific through more focused use of DF and technical cooperation. The framework identifies key goals, actors, activities, resources necessary and indicators to monitor progress.