Batteries the biggest obstacle to solar power in the Pacific
Monday 25th March 2013 Text too small?
The rapidly falling costs of electricity produced from the using photo-voltaic cells makes solar power one of the best options for remote Pacific Islands, but the cost and short lifespan of current battery technology is still a limitation.
Speaking from an international donors' conference on Pacific Island countries' energy needs, the European Union's Suva-based head of operations for the region, Renato Mele, told BusinessDesk said solar PV technology was now "very high in our set of priorities" now that PV cell costs have fallen.
In New Zealand, for example, plummeting solar PV array prices can now deliver electricity at a cost lower than it comes from the national grid, although that is only true if the consumer cuts their links with the grid, meaning they have no security of supply during periods of low sunlight, including night.
In more built-up, urban parts of the Pacific, solar PV also needed to be grid-connected, and required island states' electricity grids to be configured to allow variable contributions from solar PV when it was available, backed up by batteries and high efficiency diesel generators.
"If the grid distribution isn't sufficient and there are excessive energy losses and the grid isn't configured to absorb production from a solar plant at full power, it doesn't work properly," Mele said. That made energy efficiency an equally important focus for Pacific Island states.
For cooking, the EU is promoting bio-gas production using organic waste.
The World Bank announced at the conference today a new solar cell project for Kiribati, jointly funded by the Australian government and the bank's Global Environment Facility.
AusAID Australia will provide A$3.2 million for the project, with US$1 million coming from the GEF, will install solar panels at four sites in the capital, South Tarawa, and is expected to reduce diesel use by up to 230,000 litres annually.
Around half the 110,000 people of Kiribati live on Tarawa atoll and are depend on diesel generators for electricity.
However, Mele said while solar was a viable solution for Pacific nations, the humidity and heat of the local climate could reduce battery life, normally around five years, to as little as 12 months, creating additional costs of clean-up and replacement.
While battery storage technology is also advancing swiftly, and "the cost of batteries is not as bad as the cost of diesel," he said.
BusinessDesk.co.nz
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Solar panel installation in the United States 
Last Tuesday,  Australia and the World Bank's Global Environment Fund (GEF) reached an agreement to give the government of Kiribati 5 million (4,779,000, 5,985,000, 3,885,000) to install  around the country capital, located on the  .  According to  of , AusAID promised AU$3.2 million in funding, while GEF promised US$1 million.  The country was the first in the Pacific to make a deal with the World Bank.

The funding was part of a US$530 million (635 million) package announced at yesterday's Pacific Energy Summit in  involving New Zealand and the European Union, Australia, the , the , the , the , and the United Arab Emirates.  Also at the summit yesterday, New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister  had announced a national commitment of USD$54,262,000 (AU$51,861,000 NZ$65 million, €42,178,000) to Pacific region energy solutions, of which US$8,348,000 (AU$8 million, NZ$10 million, €6,483,000) would be specifically earmarked for renewable energy and improved energy efficiency in the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
Kiribati is heavily dependent on  for most of the energy available on the national power grid, which supplies power to half Kiribati's population of 110,000. In addition, a third of the country's population lacks access to electricity. Once installation of the solar panels is complete, they are estimated to reduce diesel consumption by 230,000 liters (60,760 gallons) a year and give access to the electricity to some parts of the population that currently have no electricity.  The European Union already has committed €100 million to sustainable energy in the region, with €10 million of that coming as a result of an announcement made last week. 

In a press release about the news, Kiribati President  was quoted as saying, "Kiribati faces big challenges it is remote, it is at risk from the effects of climate change, and it is vulnerable to economic shocks. ... Shifting Kiribati's focus to reliable solar energy will provide a more secure, more sustainable power source for the country's people." '''' quoted Tong as saying, "It's the first time we are doing this. We're excited at the prospect of even substituting fossil fuel to a small extent at this stage. What the system being envisaged will only produce around 500 kilowatts, but this is the beginning of what I hope will be a pattern, the trend in the future."

The European Union's Fiji-based head of operations for the Pacific region, Renato Mele, supported alternative energy solutions like solar power for the region, but said that solar power had limitations because climate and environmental conditions sometimes meant batteries required to power the panels had a life of only 12 months, compared to other climates where batteries normally last five years.  This created the potential to drive up standard operating costs. Mele has also noted these additional costs though are still lower than the cost of diesel power.

'''' Pacific Correspondent Barbara Dreaver noted, "Governments will be able to put the money they (currently) spend on diesel into things like education and health."


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