In the Pacific, the Solomon Islands has launched a roadmap towards meeting 100 percent energy generation from renewable resources by the year 2030. In the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda has the same ambitious goal, while Mauritius is targeting a significant 60 percent of the country’s energy mix.
And yet, despite the significant political will and abundant natural resources available, small island nations still struggle to unlock much of the potential of renewable energy to transform their societies. Resources such as solar, wind, geothermal and marine energy remain largely untapped, even with rapidly falling production costs which have made renewable energy more affordable and competitive than diesel-based sources.
In the longer term, SIDS will need to reduce reliance on imported oil products and move to cleaner forms of energy. SIDS could develop clean energy infrastructure, storage, transportation networks across islands and territories. Governments can leverage bilateral or multilateral support to create a “solidarity mechanism” for ensuring energy security in times of crisis.
Most importantly however, countries must attract investment and financing for renewable energy projects, particularly home-grown energy technologies as well as energy conservation. In this regard, the Commonwealth Secretariat and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) have launched a specialised toolkit targeted at SIDS, with the aim of generating viable business cases and strategies for clean energy investment opportunities in the power sector.