How it began
In 2012 solar grids were built on the three atolls of Tokelau: Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo. The last one was completed in early November 2012. New Zealand, which administers Tokelau, funded the 7 million dollar Tokelau Renewable Energy Project, and the company PowerSmart coordinated it. New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully called the project a world first and said the three atolls now had enough solar capacity, on average, to meet electricity needs.
Before it existed
Until the project Tokelau was 100 percent dependent on diesel for electricity generation, with heavy economic and environmental costs. The government of Tokelau reported spending about 829,000 dollars every year to import fuels. Copra production on the atolls had been discontinued around 30 years earlier, which left an abundance of unused coconuts.
How it works
The system on each atoll is made up of solar panels, storage batteries and generators that run on biofuel derived from coconut. Solar inverters allow ordinary commercial appliances to run from the photovoltaic system, and a monitoring system was installed. The Tokelau government stated that the system would generate enough electricity to meet 150 percent of the power demand of the islands.
Who pushed back
The Tokelau government noted one environmental concern: the large lead acid battery banks. It stated that training and planned recycling would reduce that risk, and that the project also cut waste oil production and disposal problems. It also said Tokelau faced difficult decisions during the process.
What changed first
Tokelau moved from complete dependence on imported fuels to energy independence for its electricity. The government planned to spend the fuel savings on services such as health and education and on repaying assistance received from New Zealand for the project. The project coordinator said the change would let Tokelau spend more on social welfare.
What lasted
The government of Tokelau described the project as one of the largest off-grid renewable energy projects in the world and said it hoped other nations would follow. A decade later the United Nations Development Programme recalled that Tokelau had been hailed as the first territory in the world to be powered by solar energy.
