The Pacific’s energy transition is often measured in solar panels and kilowatts but behind every system is a person who planned it, installed it, delivered it or told its story. More and more, that person is a woman. As we count down to #COP31, we’re celebrating some of the women driving clean energy across the region through our Women in Power series.
In Solomon Islands, Shania Kavusu is training to become a solar technician with Superfly, the locally owned company delivering REnew Pacific’s first project in the country. She works across the tool room, the sales desk and the top of a solar array at schools and hospitals, one of the few women in a trade still dominated by men. “I am proud to be the only lady breaking barriers at Superfly,” she says, “proving that we can handle everything from sales and storage to powering up our schools.” Check out her story here.
Also in Solomon Islands, Nerol Vaekesa is the one keeping that project on track. As REnew Pacific’s Portfolio Manager, based in Honiara, she works with partners to plan, manage and deliver solar systems in some of the country’s hardest-to-reach places, from Atoifi Adventist Hospital in Malaita to remote boarding schools. “The true power of electricity,” she says, “is not in the energy it provides but in the safety, opportunity and hope it brings to communities.” Check out her story here.
In Fiji, Tamara Smith, the Office Manager for It’s Time Foundation, helps bring solar power to more than 45 rural schools that are part of REnew Pacific’s projects. This year, she helped organise Fiji’s first all-women contractor team, who installed wiring and solar systems at a school in the Yasawas. “If I can help create a future where a girl sees a woman installing solar panels, leading projects and shaping the industry and thinks, ‘I can do that too,’” she says, “then I’ve done something that matters.” Check out her story here.
And across the region, Kelly Vacala leads communications for the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in the Pacific, making sure the people and communities at the centre of the transition are heard. “Use your voice with purpose,” she says, “lead with conviction and leave every space stronger because you were in it.” Check out her story here.
From the tool room to the boardroom, these women are showing what an inclusive energy transition looks like, and there are more of their stories still to tell. The projects they work on are part of REnew Pacific, delivered by the Australian Government’s Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) and implemented by Palladium.
Join us each week for a new story as we count down to COP31.
This week’s film comes from Solomon Islands, with just three weeks to go!
