Climate Change Story – Sunny side up: Timor-Leste’s potential for a rooftop solar transition

Despite having a tropical climate and abundant solar-power potential, Timor-Leste relies heavily on diesel to deliver power to its population of 1.3 million people. In 2023, MDF and the Australia-Pacific Climate Partnership (APCP) assessed the market for rooftop solar solutions in Timor-Leste, to understand the barriers, potential and opportunities.

Although commercial and industrial tariffs in Timor-Leste are 118 per cent higher than those in neighbouring Indonesia, they still fall well below the actual generation costs. Consequently, the Government of Timor-Leste, like most other middle-income countries, subsidises the cost of electricity. The government allocates six per cent of the state budget to diesel every year, despite an emerging fiscal cliff threatening the economy.