PIREP leads the charge

Asterio Takesy

Over the last ten months our Pacific Islands communities have felt the surge in fuel prices where it hurts the most. Financially.

The International Energy Agency says global economic expansion is behind the biggest demand for oil in 24 years. The higher than expected volumes to industrialised countries, plus China's rapidly expanding economy, partly explains why.

Closer to home, it's always been expensive importing fossil fuel to fire up our diesel-driven electricity generators, keep local and international transport on the move, or to power up our growing number of industries. It's just that right now it's even more so.

Leading the chase for cost effective, cleaner alternatives to meet these demands is the Pacific Renewable Energy Project (PIREP).

Established at SPREP with support from the United Nations Development Programme and Global Environment Facility, PIREP wants viable renewable energy technologies to be available to all.

The over-arching goal here is to give up our dependence on imported fuels by using renewable energy from local sources. The longer-term aim is to make renewable energies commercially viable and by doing, so reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. As consumers, this means job opportunities through private sector development, better service and value for money.

All fifteen countries and territories taking part in PIREP have just completed national assessment reports. They presented in some detail the strengths and weaknesses of renewable energy efforts and other relevant information.

Our PIREP research team says Pacific Islands countries fall into three categories when considering alternative energy developments. The first group consists of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Within all the participating countries, Melanesian nations represent about 98 percent of the total land area and about 85.8 percent of the population. What characterises them is the diverse renewable energy resources, coupled with large populations in rural areas with no access to electricity and often little involvement with capital economies.

A bloc that includes the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands have smaller populations, and large numbers of islands that are hard to access. They also have few renewable energy resources.

Most of the population live rurally, have no access to electricity, and participate in subsistence type economies driven by the organised production and sale of copra, fish and agricultural products.

The final category comprises the Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu. Here, there are high rates of electrification (close to 100 percent for Nauru, Niue, and Tokelau) and over 85 percent for the rest.

These islands stand to benefit relatively little from additional off-grid electrification programmes. The majority of the populations are engaged in commercial activities and although subsistence agriculture and fishing are present, their importance is declining.

While only PNG has oil wells, the region has considerable potential for alternative energy. The most common is solar power that has been installed with varying levels of success since the 1970s; most commonly as hot water units and stand-alone lighting systems.

Superior technology is now making wind power a viable option for commercial energy services. Biomass and copra oil from agriculture can substitute for fossil fuel. Hydropower resources for electricity production exists in a number of countries. Waste-to-energy or biogas systems would not only contribute to increased energy independence, but also help to address pollution and public health concerns, and as a source of organic fertiliser. Geothermal and wave energy have yet to be fully tested, but their potential in several countries has attracted some interest from overseas investors.

Today, there are a number of on-going effective renewable energy projects in the region that cover most of the systems described here. We have also had our fair share of spectacular failures.

In those cases, a lack of sufficient capacity in the country to plan, install, or maintain the projects have been cited. Many donor programmes have provided equipment, engineering and some training-only to fall apart after the handover to local operators-who struggle to maintain the standard, minus adequate back-up or on-going support.

In some cases equipment has just wilted under our tropical conditions. The reports indicate that the failure of the systems to perform at a premium has proven frustrating and costly for all those involved.

It is crucial that lessons learned from these failures or X-factors, are considered very carefully; and the best responses developed to achieve efficiency in energy supply and delivery. The rewards will be better telecommunications, water supply, health and education facilities, regional economic growth, and practical sustainable development in the future.


Asterio Takesy is the director of SPREP based in Apia, Samoa.