NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Independent State of Samoa, GridMarket, and the Island Resilience Partnership (IRP) are excited to announce Phase One of the RFP process - a Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) - for a mix of distributed energy solutions for Samoa’s transition to 100% renewable energy. The RFP process was formally launched by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi following the conclusion of the SAMOA Pathway High Level Midterm Review, which convened heads of state from island nations around the world to provide sustainable development progress reports during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“Today, Samoa stands with its partners GridMarket and the Island Resilience Partnership and invites the global marketplace to participate in Samoa’s accelerated transition to renewable energy and resilient infrastructure,” said Prime Minister Malielegaoi during his keynote remarks. “I would encourage interested parties to reach out to GridMarket, who is hosting the RFP, in order to be part of our historic transformation.”
GridMarket is an energy project optimization platform and global marketplace leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to accelerate the global energy transition. Working with governments and utilities around the world, GridMarket tailors best-fit energy projects, engages top-tier global solution providers, and mobilizes financial markets to help partners meet energy and carbon targets. The Island Resilience Partnership (IRP) is a public-private partnership designed to support communities on the front lines of climate change by accelerating their transition toward renewable energy and resilient infrastructure.
The origins of Samoa’s signature public-private partnership began with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which coordinated and co-hosted an official side event with GridMarket and the IRP during the SAMOA Pathway inter-regional summit in Apia, Samoa in October 2018.
“The Island Resilience Partnership and GridMarket are immensely grateful to the UNDP team and the United Nations for making this partnership happen, both from Headquarters as well as on the ground in Samoa,” said IRP Executive Director, Matt Tranchin. “Public-private partnerships have been recognized across UN forums as the key to accelerating progress and scaling impact in the fight against climate change. We are honored to be making an impact in Samoa and across the world through this initiative."
The GridMarket Platform provides a unified and coordinated approach to nation-wide clean energy deployment. GridMarket’s goal in orchestrating this comprehensive RFP is to help the Independent State of Samoa rapidly reach its key energy goals, and this solicitation is designed to help Samoa deploy an optimized mix of energy solutions at the least economic cost.
“We are fortunate to have great partners in Samoa, UNDP, the United Nations, and the IRP, without whom this effort to stabilize the Samoan grid, decrease energy rates, and achieve 100% renewable energy would not be possible,” said GridMarket CEO, Nick Davis. “We welcome the participation of the global financial and technology markets in this effort to turn the SAMOA Pathway dream into a replicable reality.”
The solutions requested represent phase one of a three phased approach to transforming Samoa’s national energy landscape. Phase One of Samoa’s National Renewable Energy Transformation will include solar PV, battery energy storage, wind, hybrid thermal/electric storage, and Municipal Waste-derived Diesel Fuels — integrated with a Microgrid Controls Platform to enable Samoa Electric Power Corporation (EPC) greater flexibility to safely and effectively operate their grid. In this way, independent power producers (IPPs) can create a solution set that is diversified, resilient, and stable, while driving energy costs down and supporting a long-term transition to 100% clean energy.
“Incremental approaches to national energy transformations neither reflect the urgency of the climate crisis not secure the lowest energy rates for governments and consumers,” stated Prime Minister Malielegaoi. “It is our hope that our partnership will help inform [small island developing states] around the world as we continue to learn from each other and adapt in the face of humanity’s existential crisis.”
The Island Resilience Partnership and GridMarket are supporting Samoa as energy advocates and advisors. GridMarket is the sole platform authorized to enact the terms of this solicitation on behalf of the Samoan Government. Solution providers interested in participating in the RFP should request the REOI documents here. Questions should be directed to samoareoi@gridmarket.com. Responses are due by 11am on Monday, November 18, 2019 (Samoan local time).
Contact Information
Jillian Caramanna Seymour
www.GridMarket.com
Jillian.caramanna@gridmarket.com
About GridMarket
GridMarket is a dynamic distributed energy project platform and competitive marketplace leveraging big data and predictive analytics to accelerate the global energy transition. The GridMarket platform automates the creation of customized opportunity assessments and technology agnostic recommendations. Actionable energy insights empower energy consumers, governments, and utilities to dynamically manage their energy potential and implement the most beneficial, cost-effective solutions.