The Republic of Palau, through the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Infrastructure & Industries, the Palau Public Utilities Corporation and Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO HD), on Tuesday (August 13) signed a framework agreement to work together on clean energy and sustainable development.
The agreement focuses on solar power and grid management, with the goal of helping Palau achieve its carbon neutrality goal by 2032 and have grid stability and lessening of power fluctuations. TEPCO HD will share its expertise and technical assistance to assist Palau with optimizing its power system and integrating more renewable energy sources.
The agreement aligns with the Joint Action Plan formulated during the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 10) held in July, which calls for increased cooperation in clean energy transition and infrastructure development.
The signing of the agreement was facilitated by a visit to Japan by Palau’s President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr., who expressed a desire to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two countries. During the signing, President Whipps said “…we have a goal to reach 100% renewable energy by 2032. We need a distribution engineer to provide stable power that is cost effective and cheaper than fossil fuel. What we don’t have is the engineering, the skills, and the people to help us reach that goal. We need the right partner, and I believe that TEPCO is the right partner.”
TEPCO HD aims to create a safe and sustainable society by reducing CO2 emissions from energy supply to zero by 2050. Through this agreement, TEPCO HD will support Palau’s efforts to transition to a clean energy economy. Palau subscribes to the achievement of SDG7 on clean and affordable energy by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Palau’s goal is to achieve 45 percent renewable energy by 2025, on the road to our goal of 100 percent by 2032. TEPCO HD’s CEO reiterated by saying “…the impetus for a stronger cooperative relationship between the Republic of Palau and TEPCO was a visit to Japan by H.E. President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. in June 2023, with the aim of helping the Republic of Palau reach its goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2032.”
TEPCO HD will leverage the expertise in decarbonization and power grid operational technologies that we have developed both domestically and internationally to contribute to grid stability and carbon neutrality in Palau. The agreement also aims to acquire technical knowledge in grid stability that can be applied to micro-grid systems in Japan’s islands.
TEPCO HD’s experience with managing power grids and integrating renewable energy sources will be invaluable to Palau as it seeks to increase its use of solar power and other clean energy technologies.
Both parties agreed to work together to create a cleaner energy future for Palau and the region.