Pacific leaders give the nod to Global Ocean Energy Alliance

May 17, 2023, by Amir Garanovic

Leaders of 20 Pacific island countries and territories have approved the Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA), highlighting the implementation of the 1.5MW ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) platform being developed for deployment in São Tomé and Príncipe.

The announcement regarding GLOEA was made during the fifth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers’ Meeting (PRETMM), hosted by the Government of Vanuatu, in Port Vila, earlier in May.

A major outcome of the meeting was an agreement to develop an ocean readiness program preparing the Pacific Island Countries and Territories for future ocean renewable energy technologies.

This measure aims to mitigate barriers and brings the latest innovations to the Pacific. Martin Lugmayr, from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), noted that projections suggest that by 2030 the ocean economy could reach over $3 trillion and create 40 million jobs.

Under the GLOEA, São Tomé and Príncipe, a pioneering Small Island Developing State (SIDS), took the lead in demonstrating the commercialization of OTEC in SIDS, which is proving to be the shining example to the rest of the world of how diesel fuel imports can be replaced with clean energy from the ocean.

“Ocean energy can address the blue and green economy aspirations of SIDS simultaneously, and can significantly contribute to climate resilience”, Lugmayr said during his presentation on the GLOEA proposal for the Pacific, spotlighting Global OTEC’s floating platform called Dominique.

Dominique is a first-of-a-kind 1.5MW floating OTEC platform being developed by the UK-based company and is supported by SIDS DOCK, UNIDO and the GN-SEC under a Global Environment Facility/Green Climate Fund (GEF/GCF) funded project.

It is expected to be deployed in 2025 in São Tomé and Príncipe, located off the West coast of Africa, in the Gulf of Guinea.

Welcoming the announcement from the Pacific leaders, Dan Grech, Global OTEC Founder and CEO, said: “The experience working with the SIDS and the PRETMM outcomes shows that islands continue to ‘walk the walk’ in supporting pioneering ocean energy projects, and GLOEA is another example of this. It is born out of their absolute necessity for energy security and access to affordable and clean power generation, which conventional renewables are failing to scale.”

Stuart Minchin, director-general of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), said: “The urgency of the climate crisis demands that we accelerate our collective action whilst recognizing 64% of Pacific people still lack access to 24-hour electricity and more than 50% of our population live in outer island environments.

“Access to regular power, access to safe and sustainable shipping and decarbonization must be our collective goals.”