Japan has approved a 20 million dollar solar power plan for four Pacific island nations as part of a climate change mitigation programme, the Japanese embassy in the Marshall Islands said.
The project is being funded under Japan's "Cool Earth Partnership" programme and will support solar power installations in the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Tonga.
As part of the programme, solar panels and related equipment will be installed on the roof of Majuro Hospital to feed up to 200 kilowatts of electricity into the power grid for Majuro Atoll, the capital of the Marshall Islands.
The power produced by the solar equipment will help the government's power utility company reduce its reliance on diesel-fuelled power, Japanese Embassy official Noboaki Yamada said Wednesday.
"The project was approved this month by Japan, and an agreement will be signed next month by representatives of both countries," Yamada said.
A Japan International Cooperation Agency team will visit in December for further development of the plan, with a tender to be issued next year and construction work expected to start in 2011, he added.
Japan's Cool Earth Partnership was established in 2008 with the goal of reducing the release by developing countries of carbon dioxide, one of the gases believed responsible for global warming.
The partnership also aims to help countries affected by climate change.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
