8 Jul 2014

ADB to invest US$228M in Pacific energy

8:15 pm on 8 July 2014

The Asian Development Bank says it will invest 228 million US dollars into energy projects in the Pacific over the next three years.

In its new Pacific Energy Update 2014, the ADB says it will help the region to reduce its heavy reliance on fossil fuels and support more sustainable growth.

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Photo: RNZ

The report says between 2005 and 2030, demand for electricity in the Pacific will grow by seven percent annually, above the growth of electricity generation at 6.4 percent annually.

It says Pacific countries will likely remain dependent on expensive imported fossil fuels as the dominant source of electricity until 2030.

In the last four years ADB has approved four energy projects in Cook Islands, Nauru, Samoa, and Solomon Islands.