ADB Announces $100 Million Assistance to Support Renewable Projects in the Pacific

As a part of its ongoing Pacific Renewable Energy Program, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an umbrella facility of up to $100 million to provide financing support including loans, guarantees, and letters of credit to overcome constraints to private sector investment in renewable power projects in Pacific island countries. The ADB, which was established in 1966, is owned by 68 members out of which 49 are from the Asia Pacific region. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. The Pacific Renewable Energy Program is set to support five separate renewable energy projects in ADB’s Pacific developing member countries over a 5-year period. ADB’s Pacific Department (PARD) and Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) will work together to implement the program, the bank said in a statement. PARD Director General Carmela Locsin said the program would help to build urgently needed capacity for energy sector expansion and private sector interest in clean energy projects in the region. “The objective is to implement more renewable energy projects in the Pacific by working with power utilities to identify transactions at an early stage,” she added.