The Republic of Nauru, like many Pacific Ocean island states relies almost entirely on diesel generators for its power.
However, the government has decided raise the share of renewables in the power mix of the 21km² nation from 3% to 47% with a large-scale solar-plus-storage project.
The power plant will have a solar capacity of 6 MW and 5 MW/2.5 MWh of storage. “The system will be fully automated and integrated with the existing diesel system to optimize solar energy use, enable optimal battery energy storage system charging and discharging and allow optimal shut-off of the diesel engines,” said the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has agreed to finance the $27 million project with a $22 million loan.
The Nauru Solar Power Development Project will be owned and operated by the Nauru Utilities Corporation and will provide almost all of the daylight electricity consumption needs of the world’s third smallest nation.
The ADB is backing the project under its Pacific Renewable Energy Investment Facility, which supports renewable energy projects in states including the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Nauru and many of its neighbors are expected to be among the first nations in the world to disappear if rising sea levels are not checked and the country’s politicians have been outspoken critics of developed nations at UN climate change gatherings.
In early August, Saint Kitts and Nevis began a 35.6 MW solar array to be paired with 44.2 MWh of storage capacity that is expected to provide around a third of the nation’s power demand. The solar-plus-storage plant will provide clean power to state-owned electric utility Skelec for 20 years.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Well, I think our Planet is going to Solar, it is a question of a few weeks. It is enough to see Greta’s movement to understand that something will be changed. The problem is that the idea to produce clean energy will bring changes of economics, old-style energy will be closed ( people without work) and new places are already ready? I hope for this, our government should work for this.
Interesting project and quite necessary. Of course, some research into the sea risk must also be stepped up.
Best spend that money moving population off the island before it sinks..
Probably this $27 million project for 6 MW of solar + 2.5 MWH of storage cost. This will cover about 1/4 of their furl use.
Unfortunately the next 1/4 will cost several times as much as the firat, since it would need only double the solar, but assuming 6 hour instead of 1/2 hour battery, about 12 times as large of a battery.
If the solar was $7 million, the battery and inverters were $20 million, for 1/2 hour capacity, so $240 million for 6 hours of storage. Close to 10x the cost of saving 1/4 of the fuel would save half, and about 30x the cost would save nearly 100% of the diesel fuel.
100% solar storage probably can’t be done, but 25% for daylight power probably can. There are not enough resources to feed, clothe, and shelter everyone alive plus build all the storage aystems. There may not be enough to build all the solar infrastructure for even the 25% but I hope so.