Fiji has issued a new tender seeking companies to express interest in building four ground-mounted solar PV power plants with a combined capacity of 31.93MW.
Launched through the partly state-owned energy company Energy Fiji Limited, the tender was revealed on 31 August and invites companies to bid to develop 21.93MW of solar PV on the island of Viti Levu, as well as a 10MW solar PV project, alongside a co-located energy storage component, on the island of Vanua Levu. This will be via a public-private partnership.
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Viti Levu, the largest of the two islands, is home to the country’s capital, Suva. The tender invites businesses to develop three of the four projects on the island, in Tavua (9.460MW), Ba (7.095MW) and Qeleloa (5.375MW), each located on the northwestern part of the island.
The projects will be located on around 28.51 hectares of land, and the selected bidder is expected to develop, operate, and maintain the ground-mounted grid-connected solar PV projects.
Energy Fiji said the bidder will be selected through an international open competitive bidding process, conducted in accordance with the procedure set out in the Request for Tender (RFT).
Once selected, power purchase agreements (PPAs) and a sub-lease agreement for each of the project sites will be negotiated with Energy Fiji to implement the project.
Tackling climate change in Fiji
In 2018, PV Tech reported that Fiji became the first emerging market to issue a green bond, to support climate change mitigation and adaption. Fiji’s Reserve Bank, with the World Bank’s support, issued a sovereign green bond, raising FJD100 million (US$50 million) to this end.
The proceeds will be used to build resilience against the impacts of climate change, and Fiji will also use them to support its target of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Fiji is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and nearly 20% of the population in the Pacific Islands is threatened with displacement.
