Is Kiribati embracing solar energy?

Poverty-stricken and energy-poor, the remote South Pacific island nation of Kiribati is embracing solar energy. Is its experience a model or a cautionary tale? BUARIKI, KIRIBATI — As late as 1990, nightfall in Kiribati (pronounced “Kiribass”), a patchwork of tiny islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, was accompanied by a peculiar odor.

Why was Kiribati solar energy company renamed in 2020?

In 2020, the reformation and renaming of the Company (commonly known then as Kiribati Solar Energy Company) was conducted with the core objective is to broaden its scope in providing services with renewable energy including solar energy, wave energy, wind energy and other RE technologies that is applicable in Kiribati.

Who is Kiribati green energy solution?

Kiribati Green Energy Solution, a State-Owned Enterprise was established on 14 November 1984 under the Company Ordinance Cap 10A. It is a leading Government implementing agency in the energy sector deal with any renewable energy initiatives in Kiribati.

Does Kiribati's 25-year solar rollout go smoothly?

But the 25-year solar rollout in Kiribati hasn’t always gone smoothly, according to officials and energy consultants.

Is Kiribati a happy country?

“We’re so much happier.” Since 1991, the state-owned Kiribati Solar Energy Company (KSEC) has distributed approximately 4,400 home solar systems across 21 of the country’s 33 islands and received millions of dollars in development assistance from Japan and then the European Union, according to Tavita Airam, the company’s chief executive.

Why is Kiribati a swath of ocean?

The vast swaths of ocean that separate Pacific Island states from each other, and from the nearest continents, coupled with a lack of fossil-fuel reserves and (for Kiribati and some of its neighbours) arable land for subsistence agriculture, make long boat trips and extensive imports of food, fuel and other essential goods a fact of life.