From some of the most remote islands on earth to the world’s biggest climate stage, REnew Pacific is taking the Pacific and Timor-Leste’s clean energy stories to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.
Launched at COP29 by Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon Chris Bowen MP, REnew Pacific is the Australian Government’s $75 million investment delivering off-grid renewable energy to some of the Pacific and Timor-Leste’s most remote communities. Two years on, and building on earlier pilots, the program is changing how essential services are powered and sustained across the region.
At COP31, we’ll be hosting Keeping the lights on, a session at the Australian Pavilion that looks beyond the technology to what makes off-grid renewable energy endure. Installing solar in remote communities is challenging. Keeping it running for years, in communities prone to natural disasters, is the real test, and this session shares how Pacific communities and partners keep the power on through quality, maintenance, local ownership and financing that lasts.
Joining the panel will be:
- Mohammed Angawi, Team Leader, REnew Pacific. Mo leads REnew Pacific and will open the session, setting out what the program has delivered two years on and how our projects are built to last, by design.
- Lindah Keremoi-Elton, Portfolio Manager (Vanuatu), REnew Pacific. A ni-Vanuatu leader who heads REnew Pacific’s Vanuatu portfolio, Lindah will speak to keeping systems running long after installation, through local technician training, remote monitoring and government-backed maintenance.
- Christopher Fruean, Chief Engineer, Electric Power Corporation (Samoa). As chief engineer at Samoa’s national electricity provider, Christopher will share how a utility owns, runs and funds the upkeep of off-grid solar, paying for maintenance through electricity payments so remote households and islands keep reliable power for years to come.
- Elke Puritau, Pacific Regional Director, Save the Children Australia. Elke will make the case that enduring energy depends as much on people as on hardware, with inclusive governance, child safeguarding and local ownership keeping systems used, trusted and maintained over time.
Here are the details:
Wednesday 11 November 2026
Australian Pavilion, COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye
9.00 to 9.45am (TRT - local time)
Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/keeping-the-lights-on-sustaining-solar-systems-beyond-the-technology
The event will also be livestreamed. Register to receive the link to your inbox.
REnew Pacific is delivered by the Australian Government’s Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) and implemented by Palladium.
Find out more: https://renewpacific.com.au/