The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank, alongside Japan and Canada, are funding Timor-Leste's first utility-scale solar and battery storage project, the ADB said on 27 July.
The 74MW solar plant and 80MWh battery system is set to also be Timor-Leste's first independent power project. Manatuto Renewables Power, set up by subsidiaries of French utility EDF and Japanese firm Itochu, is leading the project.
The project started construction last week and is expected to finish by 2028, the Timor-Leste embassy in Tokyo said last week.
When operational, the facility will deliver 134GWh and avoid nearly 93,000 t/yr of CO2 equivalent, according to the ADB.
Electricity will be sold to state utility Eletricidade de Timor Leste, Empresa Pública under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
ADB is providing $33.4mn for the project, including a tranche of concessional loans supported by Japan and Canada. The World Bank is contributing $40.2mn, part of which is also concessional loans. Japan is separately chipping in $12.2mn, bringing total funding to $85.7mn.
The World Bank also approved a 20-year political risk insurance to the EDF and Itochu entities involved in the project.
Timor-Leste wants to meet half of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030. Currently diesel-based thermal plants account for almost all of the southeast Asian country's installed power capacity of around 276MW, ADB said.