SIDS Lighthouses Initiative
General
Name of initiative | SIDS Lighthouses Initiative |
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LPAA initiative | Yes |
NAZCA Initiative | Yes |
Website address | https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnership/?p=7963 |
Related initiatives | |
Starting year | 2015 |
End year | |
Secretariat | Daniela Schmidt, IRENA, email: DSchmidt@irena.org |
Organisational structure | |
Geographical coverage | SIDS |
Name of lead organisation | IRENA |
Type of lead organisation | International organisation |
Location/Nationality of lead organisation | United Arab Emirates |
Description
Description | IRENA has developed the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative to support the strategic deployment of renewable energy in SIDS, to bring clarity to policy makers regarding the required steps, and to enable targeted action. |
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Objectives | Within the initial five (5) year timeframe, the SIDS Lighthouse initiative will focus on the power sector with the aim to achieving the following: Mobilize USD 500 million, Deploy 100 MW of new solar PV, Deploy 20 MW of new wind power, Deploy significant quantities of small hydropower and geothermal energy and a number marine technology projects in progress, Ensure all participating SIDS develop renewable energy roadmaps. |
Activities | 1. Develop and implement a structured approach to island power sector transitions to high shares of renewable energy through a set of guidelines, tools and support mechanisms, thus enabling more efficient use of resources
2. Accelerate renewable energy transitions through identification of needs and gaps, and learning from experiences on other islands. 3. Strengthen knowledge base and building of institutional capacity that can handle a rapid and profound transition 4. Facilitate development of enabling frameworks for investment 5. Identify funding opportunities and facilitate matchmaking between project developers and funding organizations |
One or two success stories achieved | RENEWABLES CAN SUPPLY NEARLY 100% OF SAMOA’S ELECTRICITY NEEDS.
According to a new study conducted by IRENA, a combination of hydro, solar and wind power can supply up to 93% of the island’s electricity demand if a few measures are incorporated into the existing power system and if water supply remains steady. IRENA’s study finds that a significant increase in renewable energy capacity is possible – including 14 megawatts (MW) of solar PV and an additional 5 MW of hydro – and can reduce the island nation’s dependence on costly fossil fuels, while helping achieve the government target of 100% renewables by 2017. If an additional 8 megawatts (MW) of biogas projects are implemented, then 100% renewable energy electricity would be achieved. Please find further information following this link: https://irenanewsroom.org/2016/06/16/renewables-can-supply-nearly-100-of-samoas-electricity-needs/ |
Monitoring and Impacts
Function of initiative | Technical dialogue, Implementation, Political dialogue, Capacity building | ||||
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Activity of initiative | Policy planning and recommendations, Knowledge dissemination and exchange, Goal setting (ex-ante), Training and education, Technical operational implementation (ex-post) | ||||
Indicators |
Technical operational implementation (ex-post) — Mitigation - Renewable energy
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Goals | Partners to the initiative pledge to achieve together more than 120MW of new renewable energy deployment by 2020. All participating islands are committed to develop renewable energy roadmaps and the initiative facilitates engagement with stakeholders to mobilize USD 500 million in financing to support the implementation of these roadmaps.
A roadmap and work plan has been developed to achieve the objectives outlining activities and support that will be facilitated through partnerships in the areas of i) improving planning for energy transition, ii) enhancing capacity and knowledge, and iii) strengthening effective project identification, structuring and implementation. | ||||
Comments on indicators and goals | |||||
How will goals be achieved | |||||
Have you changed or strenghtened your goals | |||||
Progress towards the goals | Additional initial baseline assessment (Quickscan): An additional 19 islands completed the initial baseline assessment. The findings and recommendations were shared during the second summit of OCT Energy Ministers and it will serve as the baseline for the sustainable energy component of the EU Response Strategy.
Improved planning for energy transition: An additional six islands are in the process of developing energy transition plans with support from IRENA and other stakeholder organizations to the initiative including Rocky Mountain Institute - Carbon War Room. Through the initiative, facilitated support for technical assessment studies (i.e. grid stability studies) as well as policy and regulatory advisory services is being implemented for five islands. Enhanced capacity and knowledge: A series of technical webinars and workshops have been developed and are being facilitated in partnership with regional organizations including the Caribbean Electric Utilities Services Corporation (CARILEC), in the framework of the recently established Caribbean Renewable Energy Community (CAREC) platform and Pacific Power Association (PPA). They enhance technical knowledge exchange and learning activities for utility executives, engineers and power system operators of islands in the Caribbean, AIMS, and Pacific regions to integrate higher shares of variable renewable energy into the grid. A five-day training workshop which focused on exchanging knowledge and information on policy, regulatory, institutional and financial aspects for enabling the energy transition was facilitated for 10 Pacific island nations. Effective project identification, structuring and implementation: To enable the scale up of renewable energy and energy efficiency investments, IRENA has developed a tool called the Sustainable Energy Marketplace. It is a virtual marketplace that brings together project owners, governments, financiers, and service and technology providers. | ||||
How are you tracking progress of your initiative | To date 30 island partners to the initiative completed an initial baseline assessment (Quickscan). The Quickscan is a questionnaire developed along seven elements: i) institutional framework, ii) knowledge base, iii) planning, iv) financing, v) deployment, vi) capacity building, and vii) cooperation. It assesses the readiness to deploy renewable energy within the power sector and is meant as a tool allowing governments and stakeholder organization partners to prioritize the areas of support towards accelerated renewable energy deployment.
The Quickscan serves as a benchmark and baseline for islands partners to continue tracking progress towards sustainable energy deployment. The results of the Quickscan are publicly available (irena/quickscan.org). The initiative also plans to undertake an impact analysis. It will involve collecting documentary evidence of the technical and non-technical (institutional, regulatory, social, economic, and environmental) aspects that have been identified and addressed in small islands countries that are working towards 100% renewable energy targets. | ||||
Available reporting | Progress is discussed and assessed on a regular basis in the margins of IRENA’s semi-annual council meetings and annual assembly meeting. In addition, progress and success stories are shared on a regular basis via IRENA’s Newsroom. https://irenanewsroom.org/ |
Participants
Participants | Number | Names | ||
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Members | 42 | |||
Companies | 0 | |||
Business organisations | 0 | |||
Research and educational organisations | 0 | |||
Non-governmental organisations | 0 | |||
National states | 32 | Antigua and Barbuda, Mauritius, Bahamas, Nauru, Barbados, Palau, Cabo Verde, Samoa, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cook Islands, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Fiji, Seychelles, Grenada, Solomon Islands, Guyana, Tonga, Kiribati, Trinidad and Tobago, Maldives, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, New Zealand, Norway, France, Germany, United Arab Emirates, USA, Japan. | ||
Governmental actors | 0 | |||
Regional / state / county actors | 0 | |||
City / municipal actors | 0 | |||
Intergovernmental organisations | 0 | |||
Financial Institutions | 0 | |||
Faith based organisations | 0 | |||
Other members | 10 | Indian Ocean Commission (Mauritius), IRENA (United Arab Emirates), Overseas Countries and Territories Association (Belgium), European Union, UNDP (USA), World Bank (USA), ENEL (Italy), Clean Energy Solutions Center (USA), Clinton Climate Initiative (USA), Rocky Mountain Institute - Carbon War Room (USA), SE4ALL (Denmark). | ||
Supporting partners | 0 | |||
Number of members in the years |
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Have only national states as participators | No |
Theme
Transport | Agriculture | Forestry | Business | Financial institutions | Buildings | Industry | Waste | Cities and subnational governments | Short Term Pollutants | International maritime transport | Energy Supply | Fluorinated gases | Energy efficiency | Renewable energy | Supply chain emission reductions | Adaptation | Other | Resilience | Innovation | Energy Access and Efficiency | Private Finance |
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No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Not only have national states as participators