New Zealand to help fund, build largest solar energy plant in Afghanistan

New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;is&nbsp;to&nbsp;help&nbsp;fund&nbsp;the&nbsp;largest&nbsp;solar&nbsp;energy&nbsp;plantin&nbsp;Afghanistan,&nbsp;which&nbsp;will&nbsp;be&nbsp;built&nbsp;by&nbsp;two&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;companies,&nbsp;the&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;governmentannounced&nbsp;Thursday.
Foreign&nbsp;Affairs&nbsp;Minister&nbsp;Murray&nbsp;McCully&nbsp;said&nbsp;the&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;government&nbsp;would&nbsp;provide&nbsp;18.6million&nbsp;NZ&nbsp;dollars&nbsp;(15.05&nbsp;million&nbsp;U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;dollars)&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;solar&nbsp;energy&nbsp;system&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Bamyan&nbsp;province,where&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;troops&nbsp;have&nbsp;been&nbsp;helping&nbsp;in&nbsp;reconstruction.
Two&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;companies,&nbsp;NetCon&nbsp;Ltd.&nbsp;and&nbsp;Sustainable&nbsp;Energy&nbsp;Services&nbsp;International,&nbsp;hadbeen&nbsp;awarded&nbsp;the&nbsp;contract&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;1.05&nbsp;MW&nbsp;plant,&nbsp;with&nbsp;construction&nbsp;expected&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;completedat&nbsp;the&nbsp;end&nbsp;of&nbsp;2013,&nbsp;McCully&nbsp;said&nbsp;in&nbsp;a&nbsp;statement.
&amp;#8220;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;has&nbsp;had&nbsp;a&nbsp;close&nbsp;relationship&nbsp;with&nbsp;Bamyan&nbsp;since&nbsp;the&nbsp;first&nbsp;ProvincialReconstruction&nbsp;Team&nbsp;arrived&nbsp;in&nbsp;2003.&nbsp;Energy&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;top&nbsp;priority&nbsp;for&nbsp;Afghanistan&amp;#8217;s&nbsp;developmentand&nbsp;the&nbsp;government&nbsp;of&nbsp;Bamyan&nbsp;is&nbsp;welcoming&nbsp;this&nbsp;initiative&nbsp;to&nbsp;bring&nbsp;power&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;province, &amp;#8220;McCully&nbsp;said.
&amp;#8220;We&nbsp;are&nbsp;pleased&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;able&nbsp;to&nbsp;provide&nbsp;a&nbsp;system&nbsp;that&nbsp;will&nbsp;reliably&nbsp;supply&nbsp;power&nbsp;to&nbsp;about&nbsp;2,500homes,&nbsp;businesses,&nbsp;and&nbsp;government&nbsp;buildings,&amp;#8221;&nbsp;he&nbsp;said.
&amp;#8220;This&nbsp;project&nbsp;is&nbsp;as&nbsp;much&nbsp;about&nbsp;building&nbsp;a&nbsp;utility&nbsp;and&nbsp;training&nbsp;staff&nbsp;as&nbsp;it&nbsp;is&nbsp;about&nbsp;constructing&nbsp;areliable&nbsp;energy&nbsp;facility.&nbsp;The&nbsp;system&nbsp;must&nbsp;be&nbsp;sustainable&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;long&nbsp;term,&nbsp;so&nbsp;to&nbsp;that&nbsp;end&nbsp;thegovernment&nbsp;will&nbsp;set&nbsp;a&nbsp;tariff&nbsp;that&nbsp;is&nbsp;affordable,&nbsp;but&nbsp;also&nbsp;covers&nbsp;the&nbsp;cost&nbsp;of&nbsp;maintenance.&amp;#8221;
