Approved
Australia, through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), has signed a AUD31.4 million financing package with Solar Pacific Pristine Power Inc. to build a solar facility and battery storage system at Ngatpang on Babeldaob in Palau. The solar facility will connect to the Palau Public Utilities Corporation’s grid network.
The AIFFP financing includes a loan of up to AUD25.7 million and additional funds of up to AUD5.7 million to Solar Pacific Pristine Power Inc. to develop the project.
AIFFP contribution
AUD31.4 million
| Amount (AUD million) | Amount (USD million) | Fixed interest rate | Tenor | |
| Loan | $25.7 | $18.0 | 4.75% | 17 years |
| Grant | $5.7 | $4.0 | n/a | n/a |
*Exchange rate: AUD/0.70USD
Delivery partners
Project partners
Solar Pacific Pristine Power Inc. (a subsidiary of Solar Pacific, a part of the Alternergy group)
Impact
The Palau Solar Project is Palau’s first utility-scale solar power plant. It is anticipated to deliver up to 23,000 megawatt hours per year to the grid network. This will help to reduce Palau’s dependency on imported diesel for power generation and move towards greater energy self-sufficiency through renewable sources. The plant is anticipated to provide approximately 20 per cent of Palau’s power needs.
The project is expected to support up to 150 local jobs during peak construction phase providing a much-needed boost to Palau’s economic recovery.