The International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) will provide a $4 million loan for a new Home Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Project for the Marshall Islands.
The aim is to assist local residents replace the use of fossil fuels with renewable energy. The agreement was signed by TaiwanICDF Secretary General Ambassador Weber VB Shih and Minister of Finance Brenson Wase. Minister of Resources and Development Alfred Alfred Jr., ambassador of the RMI to the ROC Frederick Muller and representatives from the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs also attended the signing ceremony.
The Home Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy project will enable households in the RMI to have access to loans to renovate wiring to improve energy efficiency, and install energy efficient appliances and solar panels. This will decrease dependence on fossil fuels by increasing use of renewable energy.
Wase noted the project is key to the RMI’s national interest and expressed his appreciation for Taiwan’s assistance. Alfred added that the RMI is working towards a 20 percent substitution of diesel with renewable energy by 2020, and this project undoubtedly stands to contribute a solid percentage of this target.
Shih emphasized that TaiwanICDF and the RMI have been cooperating for 20 years, and this project represents a new step in global efforts to tackle climate change.
Read more about this in the November 25, 2016 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.