From Geekquinox

Tokelau in the South Pacific becomes first nation to use 100% renewable energy

By Scott Sutherland | Geekquinox - November 1, 2012

The South Pacific nation of Tokelau is leading the way in renewable energy by becoming the first in the world to satisfy all its power needs through solar power and biofuels.

Consisting of three small coral islands - known as atolls - called Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo, Tokelau's over 1400 residents live on only 10 square kilometres of land space, and most of that land is only a few metres above sea level at high tide. Thus, with the rise in sea level already being seen around the world, and the impact that Tokelau has seen from this as ocean waters creep in to contaminate their water supply, having the world switch to energy sources that do not continue to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is of great interest to the Tokelauan people.

"Our commitment as global citizens is to make a positive contribution toward the mitigation of the impacts of climate change," said Jovilisi Suveinakama, general manager of the National Public Service of the Government of Tokelau, according to United Press International. "We are proud of this achievement."

The New Zealand company PowerSmart installed the 4,032 photovoltaic panels, 392 inverters and 1,344 batteries that comprise the Tokelau Renewable Energy Project, completely switching Tokelau off the roughly 200 barrels of diesel fuel its people were burning every year. For times when weather conditions are not favourable for solar power, the island has a network of generators that run off coconut-derived biofuel.

The project cost a total of around $7.5 million, which is five times the country's gross domestic product, however it saves the Tokelauan people $1 million a year by eliminating the need to purchase and ship diesel fuel. With the cost of diesel fuel on the rise, the project will quickly pay for itself. Also, the project is capable of generating 150% of the nation's current power needs, which will allow them to expand in the future without soon needing to add to the project, or resort to burning diesel again.

Although Tokelau is the first nation to switch to off-grid power supplies, they aren't the only nation with communities that have gone off-grid. (Note that this is referring to those who choose to go off-grid. There is an estimated 1.7 billion people around the world that cannot be on-grid due to location or economic reasons, which includes roughly 175 Aboriginal and northern communities in Canada.)

There are several in the United States, in California, New Mexico, North Carolina and Oregon. Efforts in Canada seem to be more individual, but the idea is catching on.