Standalone systems totaling one MW have been installed by New Zealand-based Powersmart on the atolls, Fakaofo, Atafu and Nukunon. Work originally started on the project back in June.
Overall, the project is comprised of 4,032 photovoltaic panels, 298 SMA inverters, 121 SMA Sunny Island Chargers, and 1,344 batteries. It is said to be the biggest standalone power system in the world.
Prior to solar, Tokelaus around 1,400 residents used to rely on diesel generators to provide electricity. Reportedly up to 200 liters of fuel were burned daily, which required around 2,000 barrels to be shipped from New Zealand at a cost of NZ$1 million (US$810,000) a year.
Overall, NZ$7.5 million (US$6.11 million) has been invested in the Tokelau photovoltaic project by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Even at todays diesel prices, it is expected that the array will have paid for itself in less than a decade.
"The Tokelau Renewable Energy Project has been a great success," said Joe Suveinakama, general manager of the National Public Service of the Government of Tokelau, in Apia, Samoa. "Our commitment as global citizens is to make a positive contribution towards the mitigation of the impacts of climate change. As a people we are proud of this achievement."
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.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.