Renewa ble Energy in the
Pa cific a nd its Development
The Geogra phy of the Pa cific
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SIDS renewa ble energy development problems
• Difficult environment for mechanical and electrical
equipment
• Limited technical capacity on most islands
• High cost of access makes energy more costly than on the
continents
• Financing needed because most renewable technologies
have high initial cost and low O&M cost
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Why Coa l, Oil a nd Na tura l Ga s?
• Convenient
• Flexible
• Cheap
• High energy density
• Existing infrastructure
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Why Renewa ble Energy?
• National Energy Security
• National Economic Benefits
• Poverty Alleviation
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction
• High cost of fuel due to remoteness and small market
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Overview of Renewa ble Energy Technologies for
the Pa cific Isla nds
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Bioma ss Combustion
• Advantages: widely available, can provide continuous
power, can help control waste products of processing
• Disadvantages: Low energy density fuel, fuel requires
processing to use, polluting, replacement time for biomass
may be long, large land area needed, may have high
transport and storage cost
• Best application: cogeneration at agricultural or forestry
processing plants
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Firewood Sa les – Hona ria , Solomon Is.
Herb Wade
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Fiji Tropik Woods
Herb Wade
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Biofuels (oils, a lcohols)
• Advantages: High energy density, easy storage, rural
development, avoid price and supply shocks with oil, can
provide continuous, controllable energy
• Disadvantages: Large land area required, logistics
problems, may go against strong vested interests, food vs
fuel issues
• Best application: Transport use, diesel powered electric
generation
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Kiriba ti Coconut Oil Mill
Herb Wade
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Va na utu – Copra for biodiesel
Herb Wade
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Solomon Is. – Biodiesel for sa le
Herb Wade
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Bioma ss Ga sifica tion
• Advantages: can be transported and stored, can be used
in engines, wide variety of feed stocks, continuous energy
supply
• Disadvantages: complex to control gasification process,
feedstock needs large land area
• Best application: cogeneration at agricultural or forestry
processing plants
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Bioga s
• Advantages: Control sewage and animal farm waste, can
be moved and stored. Residue is good fertilizer. Reduces
methane emissions.
• Disadvantages: Requires concentrating animals in limited
spaces, messy operational requirements, uses may be
culturally sensitive
• Best application: Control of methane generation by urban
waste and control of pig, chicken, cattle or dairy farm waste
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Fiji – Kinoya Sewer Pla nt (serving Suva )
Herb Wade
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Fiji – Sma ll Rewa Da iry Fa rm
Herb Wade
Herb Wade
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Urba n wa ste to energy conversion
• Possible technically
• PIC Cities not big enough to achieve economies of scale
• Typically requires large collection infrastructure investment
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Hydro power
• Advantages: continuous power, simple technology, low
pollution
• Disadvantages: practical sites are few, high capital cost,
environmental impact can be great, land compensation
issues, seasonally variable resource
• Best use: base load supply for grid. Supplemental storage
for solar
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Sa moa Afulilo Hydro
Herb Wade
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Fiji - Ka da vu Koro Hydro
Herb Wade
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Wind
• Advantages: No pollution, technology not very complex,
no time of day restrictions as with solar
• Disadvantages: variable and usually seasonal resource,
tropics have a marginal resource, cannot provide assured
capacity, some environmental impact, land compensation
issues, site specific resource
• Best use: supplemental input to grid
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Fiji – Butoni Wind Fa rm
Herb Wade
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Ya p – Telecom Wind Power
Courtesy Yap telecom
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Solomon Is. – Wind Power for Tra nsport
Herb Wade
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Sola r Therma l (Sola r Wa ter Hea ting)
• Advantages: mature technology, no pollution, modest
capital cost, simple technology
• Disadvantages: intermittent and variable energy source,
low energy density
• Best use: low temperature (<100C) process heat and
water heating
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Sea Pa ssion Hotel Sola r Wa ter Hea ting (Pa la u)
Herb Wade
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Geotherma l
• Advantages: can be non-polluting, low land requirement,
continuous power
• Disadvantages: High capital cost, can be polluting, $/MW
goes up rapidly as size goes down, source rarely near high
load areas
• Best use: base load generation
• Operating System: Lihir Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea
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Sola r Photovolta ics
• Advantages: can be used anywhere the sun shines,
suitable for stand alone household power, land usually not
a problem, mature technology, very cost effective for
remote water pumping, lighting and telecommunications
power
• Disadvantages: intermittent power, high capital cost,
limited input to grid possible, no capacity replacement for
utilities
• Best use: remote site electrification, supplement to grid
supply
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Grid-Connected Sola r (Kiriba ti)
Photo courtesy Bruce Clay
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Remote Isla nd Mini-Grid (Ya p)
Photo courtesy Thierre Lefevre, CEERD
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Tonga – Ma ngo Isla nd (1991)
Herb Wade
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Ocea n Therma l Energy Conversion
• Advantages: continuous power, possible fresh water
byproduct, possible cold water byproduct for airconditioning and aqua culture
• Disadvantages: Not yet commercially available, high
capital cost, complex technology, deep water access
required, may be environmentally damaging
• Best use: base load generation
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Wa ve Energy
• Advantages: can provide some continuous power and
power variations are not rapid
• Disadvantages: not yet commercially available,
environmental effects not known, difficult to protect against
storm damage
• Best use: grid supplementation
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Tida l Energy
• Advantages: can provide some continuous power and
power variations are not rapid
• Disadvantages: Tidal range for PICs is low. Few suitable
sites. High capital cost.
•
• Best use: grid supplementation
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Possible tida l energy site in Va va ’u
Map from: http://www.dolphinspiritofhawaii.com
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Va va ’u – Va ipua Bridge
Thanks to Winnie Veikoso
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Huma n Energy
• Advantages: high energy density where there is high
population density, no electronic controls required, self
repairing, productive life 40-50 years, usually available on
demand.
• Disadvantages: variable power output, complains a lot,
tendency to use more energy than is produced, may go on
strike if not well maintained, may have low conversion
efficiency of food to work, may require alcohol supplement
• Best use: when nothing else works
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Sa moa – Ca noe ra cing
Herb Wade
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Renewa bles for continuous power on dema nd
– Hydro
– Biomass combustion
– Biogas
– Biomass gasification
– Biofuels
– Geothermal
– OTEC
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Intermittent, va ria ble energy output (unless
stora ge is included)
– Solar
– Wind
– Wave
– Tidal
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Energy Stora ge Technologies
• Batteries
• Gravity storage (pumped water)
• Hydrogen
• Inertial (flywheel)
• Thermal (molten salt)
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Where is there energy for the isla nds?
Everywhere.
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