Installation of 1000 Solar Lamps Launched in Tahagamu Aldeia of Manatuto
The ACCESS Project initiated the installation of 1,000 highly efficient solar lamps in the remote and underserved areas of Bobonaro, Atauro (Dili), and Manatuto Timor-Leste amid a program in Tahagamu Aldeia of Manatuto Municipality on December 10th, 2021. Mr Lino de Jesus Torrezão, H.E. Vice Minister, Ministry of State Administration; Prof. Ruben Jerónimo Freitas, Chair of National Electricity Authority; Ms Sook-Jin Byun, Deputy Country Director of KOICA Timor-Leste; and Ms Munkhtuya Altangerel, Resident-Representative of UNDP Timor-Leste, jointly marked the first delivery of 1,000 high-efficient solar lamps. The solar lamps in Tahagamu Aldeia will benefit 181 people, including 95 women, from 37 households. Of the total beneficiaries, 66 are school-going children.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with funding from KOICA and in partnership with the Ministry of State Administration, will deliver and install 1,000 high-efficient solar lamps in 25 suco in Atauro (Dili), Bobonaro, and Manatuto. The support is managed by the Accelerating Clean Energy Access to Reduce Inequality (ACCESS) Project. Five thousand twenty-one people, including 2,497 women, will benefit from the initiative. This Project aims to support the poor and most vulnerable communities in having equitable and sustainable access to essential services, namely water and electricity, to improve their livelihoods.
The UNDP Resident Representative said, “Since Timor-Leste is highly vulnerable to climate change, a shift to renewable energy is significant.” The Project is being implemented under the South-South Triangular Cooperation between Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and the Republic of Korea. “I would like to thank UNDP for partnering with the National Electricity Authority,” said Dr. Ruben. “We are ready to provide any support UNDP and government may need in this regard,” he added. The Project will contribute to the achievement of Timor-Leste's National Strategic Plan (2011-2030), which considers renewable energy to have the potential to dramatically contribute to economic growth and help reduce poverty in remote rural areas. It will also contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The electricity provision for remote and underserved areas is a priority for the government, which has initiated energy sector reforms through the recent establishment of Electricidade de Timor-Leste as an autonomous state-owned enterprise. “The Government of Timor-Leste plans to provide solar lamps in areas difficult to be covered by regular electricity grids; hence this initiative is in line with the government policy and priority,” said H. E. Vice Minister Mr. Torrezão. He also thanked UNDP and KOICA for this support.