Access to electricity in Small Island Developing States of the Pacific: Issues and challenges

Renewable Energy Development in Small Island Developing States of the Pacific

“…It also reflects the fact that meeting these targets is expected to involve funding from development partners; governments in establishing the scope of targets are not responsible for their financing, so are less constrained than might otherwise be the case. This has resulted in criticism of some of the more ambitious targets in countries with few low-cost renewable energy resources available for development [16]. Tuvalu, which as a country is extremely vulnerable to climate change and where migration is seriously being considered in response, provides a good example.…”

“…This includes the installation of thousands of solar home systems in rural areas in the 1980s, as well as experimentation with village biofuel facilities, all of which have failed in time due to lack of appropriate operation or maintenance. Such experimentation should be avoided in the region, given the limited technical skills available to maintain or repair technology, and the difficulties in establishing sustainable institutional arrangements for maintenance (which by definition must both complement and be supported by traditional village governance structures) [16,20]. Notes: A "good" assessment refers to a resource that is capable of cost-effectively providing a "good" or significant proportion of the total electricity supply of a country.…”

“…In examining these latter results, it is important to emphasise that the single most important threat to the security of power supplies in rural areas not connected to the grid is poor maintenance. Institutional arrangements for operation and maintenance of off-grid power generation technologies are therefore of most importance to rural households not connected to the electricity grid [16,20].…”

“…The increase in commodity prices that occurred in 2008 adversely affected rural households of Pacific SIDS. One survey conducted in northern Fiji found that rural households spent approximately 24 percent of their income on energy purchases: primarily kerosene, petrol and diesel fuels for lighting (in some cases fuel was used for cooking, and to power refrigerators, chainsaws, brush-cutters, and washing machines) [16]. Households spent between $20 and $31 USD per month more on energy as a result of prices increase.…”

Energy Usage of Residents on Offshore Islands in Taiwan

“…In general, those policy incentives can potentially minimize the fiscal burden of local residents. However, it is also known that government-funded projects have rarely been sustainable [13,14]. From a demand-side point of view, renewable energy resources are preferred in areas far from grid connections for long-term viability [15,16].…”