The Asian Development Bank is helping the Cook Islands reduce its heavy dependence on diesel fuel for electricity generation. The project will fund solar power plants on six islands in the south of the country, with each plant having generating capacity of 3 megawatts. The project is expected to save more than a million liters of diesel consumption a year.
| Project Name | Renewable Energy Sector Project | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Number | 46453-002 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Cook Islands |
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| Project Status | Active | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Grant Loan |
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| Source of Funding / Amount |
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| Strategic Agendas | Environmentally sustainable growth Inclusive economic growth |
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| Drivers of Change | Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Governance and capacity development Knowledge solutions Partnerships Private sector development |
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| Sector / Subsector | Energy / Renewable energy generation - solar |
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| Gender Equity and Mainstreaming | Some gender elements | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Description | The impact of the project will be increased energy security in an environmentally sustainable manner. The outcome will be an increased access to a higher share of electricity generated by renewable energy sources. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | The Cook Islands is a Pacific island country divided into two island groups with an estimated total population of 18,600 people. The Northern group consists of seven low-lying and sparsely populated coral atolls, while the Southern group consists of eight fertile volcanic islands. About 92% of the population lives in the Southern group islands including Rarotonga, the main island. Economic development is hindered by the country's limited size, isolation and distance from markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. The Cook Islands is heavily dependent on imported fuels. The total fuel import bill of the Cook Islands in 2012 was NZ$34.6 million or 25% of total imports and 9% of gross domestic product. Diesel-powered generators constitute about 99% of the total electricity generating capacity. The total installed power generation capacity in the Cook Islands is 11.75 MW with a distribution network comprising 80 km of 11 kV underground cables and 200 km of 0.415 kV low voltage distribution lines. On the major islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki, nearly 99% of all households are grid connected, 8% have additional solar photovoltaic home systems, and 3% use small diesel generators. On the outer islands, about 60% of households are grid connected, and 43% have SHS. Current electricity demand in the Cook Islands is around 30.0 GWh, which is forecast to modestly grow to 38.5 GWh by 2020. The Southern group is the dominant load center that accounts for 98% of current and future load demands. Delivery of energy services is undertaken by state-owned utilities on Rarotonga and Aitutaki islands, and by island administration committees on the other outer islands, which are vertically-integrated electricity authority operating generation, transmission, distribution and retail of electricity. Assets for energy services are owned and overseen by the Cook Islands Investment Corporation, the government's holding company grouping the state-owned enterprises. |
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| Impact | Increased energy security in an environmentally sustainable manner | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Outcome | |
|---|---|
| Description of Outcome | Increased access to a higher share of electricity generated from renewable energy sources |
| Progress Toward Outcome | On all Phase 1 subprojects (Mauke, Mitiaro, Mangaia, Atiu), commissioning have been done. On Phase 2 (Aitutaki, Rarotonga), the systems have been operating since September 2019 and no new issues have been reported. On Rarotonga Airport West BESS, no further work has occurred since the Completion Certificate was issued in October 2019. Planned rectification of defects for April 2020 is on hold due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. Rarotonga Airport South BESS was installed in December 2019 and commissioning was completed in February 2020. The BESS is online and setup to maintain constant state of charge and configured to provide network frequency and voltage support. |
| Implementation Progress | |
| Description of Project Outputs | 1. Solar PV power system development for four Phase 1 and for one Phase 2; BESS subproject developed; and additional installation of 3 units of BESS with a preliminary capacity of 3.0 MW and 12.0 MWh 2. Institutional strengthening and project management support |
| Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | All Phase 1 subprojects (islands Mauke, Mitiaro Mangaia, and Atiu) have now been fully running on the new renewable power systems. Atiu was included in Phase 1 turnkey contract awarded in Aug 2016; Contract awarded for the Aitutaki subproject in July 2018; and The Rarotonga subproject was requested by the government to be omitted from Phase 2 (noncore subprojects) approved by ADB, on a no objection basis, in Feb 2017.GEF-funded and GCF-funded (Lots 1 and 2) BESS have all been awarded already. |
| Geographical Location | |
| Safeguard Categories | |
|---|---|
| Environment | B |
| Involuntary Resettlement | B |
| Indigenous Peoples | C |
| Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
|---|---|
| Environmental Aspects | The project has been classified as category B for environment following ADB's SPS. An EARF has been prepared for Phase 2 subprojects, and an IEE has been prepared for core subprojects. The main environmental impacts will be during site preparation, which will include the cutting of about 141 trees and clearing of vegetative cover from the proposed sites and surrounding areas to prevent shading. There will be impacts from noise and dust due to transportation of plant and materials as well as operation of construction machinery. These impacts will be short-term (approximately one week for the smaller plant and up to a month for the larger plant). Operational impact includes maintenance of the plant and management of used batteries. It is proposed, as a special condition in the technical specifications, that handling and disposal of used batteries will be taken cared of by suppliers. The solar photovoltaic power system will not have any significant long-term adverse environmental impacts. During implementation, MFEM, TAU, and REDD, with support from the environmental expert under the institutional strengthening and project management support component, will prepare IEE for noncore subprojects, and develop and update the IEE and the EMP based on the detailed designs for core and noncore subprojects. ADB will clear the updated documents. The EMPs from the updated assessments will be integrated into the bid and contract documents. During project implementation, the environment expert will enhance the capacity of MFEM, TAU, and REDD in safeguards implementation and monitoring. |
| Involuntary Resettlement | The project has been classified as Category B for involuntary resettlement following SPS. The project is not expected to involve physical displacement, but will require a total of 7.4 ha of land. A resettlement plan has been prepared for the three core subprojects. A resettlement framework has been prepared for the project providing guidelines to prepare the resettlement plan for noncore subprojects. The resettlement plan will be updated after the detailed design and compensation will be provided to affected persons before the start of civil works in respective sites. |
| Indigenous Peoples | The project has been classified as Category C for Indigenous Peoples following SPS. The population in the project area comprises the mainstream population of Cook Islands. The project is not expected to impact any distinct and vulnerable group of indigenous peoples as defined under SPS. |
| Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
| During Project Design | |
| During Project Implementation | |
| Business Opportunities | |
|---|---|
| Consulting Services | The executing agency has requested advance contracting. This will include procurement of consulting services. |
| Procurement | The loan will be used for the procurement of equipment and materials, civil works, services, related transportation, insurance, installation costs, and interest and commitment charges on the loan during construction for non-core subprojects on Atiu, Aitutaki, and Rarotonga. The loan will also be used to finance consulting services and contingencies. The grant will be used for the procurement of equipment and materials, civil works, related transportation, insurance, and installation costs for core subprojects on Mauke, Mitiaro, and Mangaia. The government of Cook Islands will finance land acquisition, environmental and social monitoring, taxes and duties not funded by the loan and grant, and contingencies. To support the project's procurement, EU has agreed to follow ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2013, as amended from time to time) for the civil works contracts. However, EU cannot exclude any of its member countries from the contracts it funds. Therefore, an exception to Article 14(ix) of the Agreement Establishing the Asian Development Bank (the Charter 7) is required to allow non-member countries of ADB to tender for the procurement of equipment and materials, civil works, and services. The government of Cook Islands will finance land acquisition, environmental and social monitoring, taxes and duties not funded by ADB loan and the EU grant, and contingencies. |
| Responsible ADB Officer | So, Eun young |
| Responsible ADB Department | Pacific Department |
| Responsible ADB Division | PAEN |
| Executing Agencies |
Ministry of Finance & Economic Management PO box 120 Cook Islands |
| Timetable | |
|---|---|
| Concept Clearance | 04 Sep 2013 |
| Fact Finding | 10 Mar 2014 to 21 Mar 2014 |
| MRM | 22 Apr 2014 |
| Approval | 21 Nov 2014 |
| Last Review Mission | - |
| Last PDS Update | 21 Dec 2020 |
Grant 0415-COO
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 21 Nov 2014 | 13 Jan 2015 | 09 Feb 2015 | 31 Dec 2017 | 31 Dec 2021 | - |
| Financing Plan | Grant Utilization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (Amount in US$ million) | Date | ADB | Others | Net Percentage | |
| Project Cost | 26.18 | Cumulative Contract Awards | |||
| ADB | 0.00 | 21 Nov 2014 | 0.00 | 6.44 | 89% |
| Counterpart | 11.66 | Cumulative Disbursements | |||
| Cofinancing | 14.52 | 21 Nov 2014 | 0.00 | 5.61 | 77% |
| Status of Covenants | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Sector | Safeguards | Social | Financial | Economic | Others |
| Rating | - | - | - | - | - | Satisfactory |
Grant 0493-COO
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 29 Aug 2016 | 14 Sep 2016 | 18 Oct 2016 | 31 Dec 2019 | 31 Dec 2021 | - |
| Financing Plan | Grant Utilization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (Amount in US$ million) | Date | ADB | Others | Net Percentage | |
| Project Cost | 5.57 | Cumulative Contract Awards | |||
| ADB | 0.00 | 29 Aug 2016 | 0.00 | 4.25 | 100% |
| Counterpart | 1.31 | Cumulative Disbursements | |||
| Cofinancing | 4.26 | 29 Aug 2016 | 0.00 | 3.73 | 87% |
| Status of Covenants | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Sector | Safeguards | Social | Financial | Economic | Others |
| Rating | - | - | - | - | - | Satisfactory |
Grant 0548-COO
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 30 Oct 2017 | 20 Jun 2018 | 30 Jul 2018 | 30 Jun 2020 | 31 Dec 2021 | - |
| Financing Plan | Grant Utilization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (Amount in US$ million) | Date | ADB | Others | Net Percentage | |
| Project Cost | 13.80 | Cumulative Contract Awards | |||
| ADB | 0.00 | 30 Oct 2017 | 0.00 | 10.38 | 86% |
| Counterpart | 1.80 | Cumulative Disbursements | |||
| Cofinancing | 12.00 | 30 Oct 2017 | 0.00 | 6.68 | 56% |
| Status of Covenants | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Sector | Safeguards | Social | Financial | Economic | Others |
| Rating | - | - | - | - | - | Satisfactory |
Loan 3193-COO
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 21 Nov 2014 | 13 Jan 2015 | 09 Feb 2015 | 31 Dec 2017 | 31 Dec 2021 | - |
| Financing Plan | Loan Utilization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (Amount in US$ million) | Date | ADB | Others | Net Percentage | |
| Project Cost | 22.38 | Cumulative Contract Awards | |||
| ADB | 22.38 | 21 Nov 2014 | 8.42 | 0.00 | 93% |
| Counterpart | 0.00 | Cumulative Disbursements | |||
| Cofinancing | 0.00 | 21 Nov 2014 | 8.15 | 0.00 | 90% |
| Status of Covenants | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Sector | Safeguards | Social | Financial | Economic | Others |
| Rating | - | - | - | - | - | Satisfactory |
Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. It establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced.
The Accountability Mechanism provides a forum where people adversely affected by ADB-assisted projects can voice and seek solutions to their problems and report alleged noncompliance of ADB's operational policies and procedures.
In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of, or reference to, a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.
Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.
Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation
None currently available.
Related Publications
None currently available.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced in its operations to facilitate stakeholder participation in ADB's decision-making. For more information, refer to the Safeguard Policy Statement, Operations Manual F1, and Operations Manual L3.
Requests for information may also be directed to the InfoUnit.
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GCF Provides Additional Funding to ADB-Cofinanced Solar Project in Cook Islands
GCF is providing a $12 million grant as additional financing to the ongoing ADB-cofinanced Cook Islands Renewable Energy Sector Project, which will help the country transition to a renewable energy future. -
ADB to Help Cook Islands Generate Solar Power
The Cook Islands’ dependence on fossil fuels will be reduced under a project to build solar-powered plants on six of its islands, funded by ADB, the European Union, and the Government of Cook Islands.
Tenders
| Tender Title | Type | Status | Posting Date | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L3193/G0415/G0493/G0548-COO: Renewable Energy Sector Project [CIRESP-007-CK181929] | Invitation for Bids | Closed | 27 May 2019 | 07 Aug 2019 |
| L3193/G0415/G0493-COO Cook Islands Renewable Energy Sector Project [Aitutaki - Phase 2] | Invitation for Bids | Closed | 14 Jul 2017 | 28 Sep 2017 |
Contracts Awarded
| Contract Title | Approval Number | Contract Date | Contractor | Contractor Address | Executing Agency | Contract Description | Total Contract Amount (US$) | Contract Amount Financed by ADB (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAROTONGA BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM "AIRPORT SOUTH" | Grant 0548 | 26 Sep 2018 | VECTOR LTD | 101 CARLTON GORE DRIVE NEWMARKET AUCKLAND 1023 NEW ZEALAND | Ministry of Finance & Economic Management | 5,057,053.00 | — | |
| AITUTAKI RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM | Loan 3193 | 16 Jul 2018 | POWERSMART NZ LIMITED | 18 TUKORAKO DRIVE MT. MAUNGANUI NEW ZEALAND | Ministry of Finance & Economic Management | TURNKEY | 2,211,524.00 | 269,195.00 |
| Phase 1 Solar Photovoltaic Plants (Civil Works) | Loan 3193 | 27 Jun 2017 | Netcon Limited | Level 3, 15 Courtenay Place, Po Box 19227, Wellington, 6149 New Zealand | Ministry of Finance & Economic Management | Construction | 2,558,447.00 | 2,558,447.00 |
| Replenishment of Imprest Account | Loan 3193 | 18 Apr 2017 | Netcon Limited | 31 Meadows Road Timaru 7910 New Zealand | Ministry of Finance and Economic Management | Others | 2,732,758.38 | 2,708,018.53 |
Procurement Plan
| Title | Document Type | Document Date |
|---|---|---|
| Renewable Energy Sector Project: Procurement Plan | Procurement Plans | Apr 2019 |