International Contribution Project in a Pacific Island Nation, the Republic of Kiribati

Project overview

The Republic of Kiribati is a country of 100,000 people living in a cluster of small islands in the Pacific Ocean. Located just three meters above sea level, over half the islands making up the Republic of Kiribati are in immediate danger of submergence due to the recent rising sea levels caused by global warming. In response to this, efforts are being made to introduce eco-friendly solar power in order to avoid carbon dioxide emissions.
While plans are in place to develop a 1.4MW solar power plant to help deal with a total power demand of 4MW in the capital, Tarawa, there are concerns that such an installation will negatively impact existing facilities because of the unstable power supply solar power plants produce due to changes in the weather.
TEPCO has experience developing and testing the effective use of solar power plants to their maximum capacity in isolated islands off the Japanese mainland, and has been entrusted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to review the potential for applying these technologies and techniques in the island nation of Kiribati.
This project not only aims to provide Kiribati with a stable supply of power. TEPCO will also provide know-how on the accompanying systems and equipment - for which the technologies of Japanese companies are used and are set to be applied laterally across other Pacific island countries as well - and the related maintenance and operation techniques required.