The Government is giving $65 million in funding for Pacific Island countries to build renewable energy projects.

The New Zealand Aid Programme funding comes as the Department of Conservation faces a 3 per cent budget cut and the loss of 140 jobs.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully made the announcement at the Pacific Energy Summit in Auckland this week.

The $65m will go towards projects in the Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Samoa, in many cases to reduce reliance on expensive and unsustainable diesel.

In partnership with the Asian Development Bank New Zealand will contribute $10 million to solar and wind projects in the Cook Islands.

In Tuvalu, New Zealand is committing $11m to a variety of renewable energy projects.

New Zealand will put $14m into geothermal and other renewable energy initiatives in PNG, while in Samoa it will make $14.5m available to advance solar and wind initiatives.