In a note to the EIB, Vanuatu’s Ambassador to the European Union Roy Mickey Joy said, “Vanuatu expresses its most profound and deepest gratitude to the EIB for coming forward with such a substantial amount of funds to help fulfill the country’s energy needs.
“I am very encouraged by the bank’s swift and efficient responses to my government’s request and I look forward to working closely with the bank in Luxembourg as we move to the implementation of this huge investment.
“This is clearly a very big step forward in terms of energy and climate change and I am very confident Port Vila will be writing to the bank, in due course to express their sentiments and gratitude,” Joy said.
The EIB will provide 4.3 million euros, or $6.27 million, to support the construction of a 2.75 megawatts wind farm on Vanuatu’s main island of Efate.
The wind farm is being built by Unelco Vanuatu Ltd, part of GDF-Suez Group. The finance contract was signed in Port Vila last week by representatives of the European Investment Bank and the president of Unelco.
The project is the first wind farm to be implemented in Vanuatu and it is hoped that this will form a reference project for other Pacific islands.
The wind farm comprises 10 identical new 55-meters high wind turbines designed to be winched to the ground when required for maintenance or to avoid wind damage in the event of a tropical cyclone. It marks an important first-step in diversifying sources of electricity supply and reducing dependence on expensive fossil-fuel imports. It will reinforce UNELCO’s strategy to develop renewable energy production based on wind turbines, bio-fuel and solar energy.
