Tokelau surpasses Aruba in 100-percent sustainable energy

Amigoe

ORANJESTAD/NUKUNONU — The Polynesian archipelago Tokelau will probably be the first ‘country’ in the world to run almost entirely on sustainable energy, namely by building solar panels that are to produce almost 100 percent of the energy demand on the islands. International media worldwide reported the news.At the moment, the electricity is being generated by diesel generators. The fuel for the latter (2000 barrels per year) is imported by boat and costs approximately 800,000 dollars per year.  Three huge solar panels are soon to produce approximately one megawatt of electricity and batteries for electricity when there’s no sun. For that matter, one megawatt is more than sufficient for the average electricity demand so the population can expand without problems. The director of Powersmart, the company that installs the solar panels, informed the media in New Zealand that the panels will recover their cost within five years and that the panels will last approximately twenty years without major repairs. Officially the archipelago falls under New Zealand and has a population of approximately 1700 citizens. Our country also strives for 100-percent sustainable energy. To accomplish this, the government entered into a partnership with the Carbon War Room (CWR), an initiative of Sir Richard Branson. The ambition of the partnership is to arrange that Aruba becomes the first entirely sustainable energy-economy of the world. The United Nations consider Tokelau as a ‘non-self-governing area’.