Australia’s support is bolstering the health care system through improved energy security in the rural community of Tetere in Solomon Islands.
The Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) through its Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership (PCIFP) in partnership with Superfly Limited is investing SBD1.5 million to install a solar hybrid system supplying sustainable and consistent energy generation for the Good Samaritan Hospital.
The Good Samaritan Hospital, based in Tetere, provides essential healthcare services for over 43,000 people, particularly women who depend on it for maternity care and child health services. Located outside the Honiara electricity grid, it is currently reliant on diesel-fuelled electricity generation, which is costly to run, prone to failure, and contributes to climate change. It also puts patients and hospital staff at significant risk due to unreliable energy and pollution.
Through this two-year partnership, local electrical company Superfly will install a solar-hybrid system, which will meet energy generation needs for the hospital, enabling local community members to access a safer and more resilient healthcare setting.
Superfly will also build the capacity of the hospital staff to monitor and maintain the system safely and will also use data-driven insights from the system to understand how to develop scalable models for future fuel-switching projects for other remote communities in Solomon Islands and the greater Pacific.
Announcing the project at a community event, Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to Solomon Islands Mr Andrew Schloeffel said, “Australia is very proud to be part of a project that supports the Good Samaritan Hospital to reduce its reliance on costly, imported diesel fuel.”
By switching to the solar hybrid system, the partnership is projected to reduce 510 tonnes of CO2 emissions over 10 years.
The PCIFP expands the AIFFP’s climate investments by partnering with businesses to deliver reliable and sustainable renewable energy to remote and rural communities in the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
This initiative supports Solomon Islands’ Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy, which is to boost electricity access outside of Honiara from 4.9 to 40 per cent by 2025, in working towards 100 per cent access to electricity by 2050.
The AIFFP through its PCIFP in partnership with Superfly Limited is investing SBD1.5 million to install a solar hybrid system.
The Good Samaritan Hospital, based in Tetere, provides essential healthcare services for over 43,000 people