What does it take to prepare an energy and water project in some of the most remote islands in the Pacific?
Over the coming months, we will take you along with us as the CREWS project progresses across three remote islands and atolls in Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM): Sapwuahfik, Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi.
Funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in partnership with the Government of FSM and Pohnpei Utilities Corporation (PUC), the project will support improved access to reliable electricity and drinking water in these communities.
In August, our team set sail for the first field mission of this phase of the project. Over 11 days and 1,650 km by boat, they travelled across some of the most remote parts of FSM to gather the information needed for the concept designs.
The mission was about getting to know the islands, the communities and the realities on the ground, and understanding what it takes to shape the next stage of the project.
The team met with communities and local leaders, carried out household surveys and environmental and social assessments, assessed energy needs and existing infrastructure, and identified potential sites for future solar plants.
Working in such remote locations means dealing with very specific realities: limited transport and public services, limited local skills and infrastructure, and long distances between islands. Understanding these realities from the ground up is key to developing solutions that are technically sound and suited to each island’s context.
As Owner’s Engineer and Implementation Consultant, TTA is supporting stakeholder coordination, assessing the local context and defining the engineering solutions, building on our long-standing experience in FSM and across the Pacific.
This is the first stop in our Pacific Stories series.
Each month, we will share another chapter of the project as it moves forward, from fieldwork and technical studies to the next stages of development.
🌊 Follow along as the story unfolds.
