ISAAC MARTY
A solar-to-grid installation workshop to train certified local installers was held at Robert Reimers Enterprises’ Bokanake this past week. The Solar PV (photovoltaic) System Training funded by ADMIRE and PIGGAREP, with Ministry of Resources and Development’s Energy Office coordinating, is a lead up to the Marshall Islands Development Bank’s solar loan scheme.
The scheme is designed to help local residents on Majuro and Ebeye to buy solar-to-grid home systems to reduce energy costs. Energy generated at homes will get transferred to MEC power grid which helps RMI cut down on fossil fuel and also benefit homeowners by reducing their bill with Marshalls Energy Company (MEC), explained Energy Planner Angeline Heine and Energy Technical Officer Walter Myazoe, Jr.
The solar-to-grid home system cannot be installed by anybody except those who are certified. This is where the installers come in. The installers will work with homeowners to set up the system. Representatives from MEC, Ebeye’s KAJUR, and others from the private sector attended the training. MEC and CMI are currently the only agencies that have certified installers and the training is being held to expand the pool of technicians available in Majuro and Ebeye, said Heine.
The RMI’s current goal is to have 20 percent of its power produced by alternative energy by 2020. According to Heine, the RMI is near achieving this goal. But then there are more things that the government needs to do domestically. “The government should not focus only on the international platform but more importantly at the ground level,” she said. “We need to walk the talk.”
Read more about this in the December 18, 2015 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.