A new online platform designed to speed up clean-energy deals across Asia and the Pacific was launched at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya on Thursday, after a first year in which it helped broker seven agreements in seven countries.

The Clean Energy Deal Hub, launched by the Renewable Energy Council Asia-Pacific (RECAP), is now available in beta. It records deals signed and in progress, lists suppliers, builders and financiers, and gives governments, developers and investors a single point of contact with RECAP's deal team. Since April, the team has run facilitation sessions in Dhaka, Sydney, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City and Nadi.

Seven deals worth about $650 million

Agreements supported through the hub in the past year cover about 700 MW of solar power, worth about $650 million in total. They include a 20-year solar and battery agreement to replace Nauru's diesel generation at no upfront cost to the country, an 887 kW solar system at a cannery in Levuka, Fiji, that will cut diesel use by about 310,000 litres a year, and a partnership signed last week in Bangladesh covering 500 MW of utility-scale solar and 150 MW of rooftop solar.

“Governments across the region know what they want to build. What stops them is finding a partner they can trust, a supplier who will deliver, and finance that fits,” said RECAP chief executive John Grimes. “The Hub puts the deals, the people and the pipeline in one place, so the next agreement takes months rather than years.”

Launch at the Pakistan Pavilion

The launch took place at the Pakistan Pavilion at COP31. PV Magazine reported in May that Nauru had signed an agreement with Sydney-based Smart Commercial Energy for an 18 MW solar and 40 MWh battery solution. Source: the Renewable Energy Council Asia-Pacific.