SIDS Lighthouses Initiative workshop on renewable energy project development and financing in the Indian Ocean Islands

Organised in the framework of the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative and co-organized with the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), this regional workshop on renewable energy project development and financing in the Indian Ocean Islands supported capacity building efforts by implementing a regional training on project development and financing for local SIDS stakeholders.

The workshop looked at ways to improve conditions to finance and implement renewable energy project in the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and La Réunion. The workshop mainly be composed of a training based on Project Navigator with additional contribution from other IRENA project facilitation platforms such as Global Atlas and Marketplace. The workshop facilitated discussions on how to overcome implementation obstacles that can be of a policy, regulatory, funding or capacity building nature. The agenda included sessions promoting partnerships, new technology and recent cost developments, and case studies presented by project owners and developers.

Experts from industry and development partners presented practical applications of island renewable energy projects in SIDS with the aim to identify what the key enablers for the successful replication in the Indian Ocean SIDS and in other regions as well. The workshop targeted participants with a mix of public and private backgrounds including local project developers, public sector employees, local utility regulators, electric utilities, academia other relevant project stakeholders who will be trained based on the gaps identified by the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative.