A partnership between aid organisation Save the Children and Australian energy advisory firm, Energy Estate, aims to revolutionise the way energy is delivered in Pacific island nations.
The partnership involves the creation of a development platform to deliver renewable energy to remote, off-grid communities in the Pacific.
The new hub will accelerate the delivery of much needed energy infrastructure to these communities and help meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for the Pacific region.
The Australian Government has announced its ambition to lift living standards and drive economic growth in the Pacific through targeted partnerships with the private sector. Energy Estate and Save the Children, through its commercial development arm Inclusiv Ventures, have partnered to launch the development platform which will match regional leaders and communities in the Pacific with energy technology and service providers, donors and investors.
The SDG Hub will connect leaders in Pacific nations with the most suitable energy and other technology service providers to ensure access to telecommunications, including mobile telephones, lighting and other electricity-driven services.
The initiative combines Save the Children’s knowledge, reach and reputation as provider of development and humanitarian assistance in the Pacific with Energy Estate’s comprehensive international experience in the clean energy sector.
Save the Children CEO Paul Ronalds said the initiative had the potential to affect profound change in the Pacific.
“In a changing aid landscape, this innovative new initiative points the way forward in how key infrastructure can be delivered to remote communities to improve the lives of children in the Pacific,” said Ronalds. “Save the Children will bring its proven ability to work with communities to deliver development and humanitarian assistance in the Pacific, including through strategic partnerships.”
Ronalds continues that the impact of reliable, renewable energy in the Pacific, enabling greater access to education, financial services and healthcare, could be life-changing for children.
Energy Estate principal Simon Currie said that the timing of the launch of the SDG Hub reflects the rapid improvement in the cost effectiveness of clean energy solutions globally.
“We strongly believe that collaboration between stakeholders is key to the delivery of better outcomes to communities everywhere. Save the Children is the perfect partner to launch this initiative. The SDG Hub will be open to all and we encourage other organisations to join us so that together we can rapidly achieve the Sustainable Development Goals across the Pacific,” Currie said.
Simon Corbell, Chief Advisor of Energy Estate, said this collaboration provided an opportunity to ‘step-up’ investment in critical infrastructure in the Pacific, as well as meet development goals.
“A range of challenges have historically prevented highly dispersed and geographically remote communities in the Pacific from ready access to off-grid technology,” Corbell said. “This partnership aims to overcome those market challenges and complexities by connecting the communities with the technology service providers and investors who can deliver the services they need.”
“The SDG Hub will allow investors and donors to deploy their development capital to more targeted effect in the Pacific, achieving sustainable outcomes in every sense,” he said.
The implementation of the SDG Hub will be finalised in the coming months through engagement with Pacific communities, technology and service providers, potential investors and donors such as the Australian Government.
It is expected to commence operations in 2020, with an initial focus on Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji.