100% Solar At Tokelau !
Dear Friends and Visitors,
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The three atolls (Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo) in the South Pacific, a New Zealand territory, will become the first country/territory in the world to be entirely powered by Solar Energy by the end of October this year ! These three coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean have a combined land area of 10 squared km and a population of approximately 1,400. The atolls lie north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands and northwest of the Cook Islands.
Tokelau On The Globe, Polynesia centered (wikimedia)
Tokelau Islands Map (wikimedia)
The lead contractor Powersmart Solar is helping Tokelau to replace its diesel generators (which burn about 200 lieters of fuel daily), with 4032 solar panels, 392 inverters and 1344 batteries. Mike Bassett-Smith, the lead contractor of Powersmart Solar, said the company was proud to be leading the project for its impact on the well-being of the people of Tokelau. “All across the Pacific there are clear issues with the current and expected future costs of electricity generated using diesel, not to mention the environmental costs and risks of unloading diesel drums on tropical atolls. Energy costs underpin the economic and social development of these nations and making a positive impact on these issues is the single most important reason we started this business” he said. The first solar system on the atoll of Fakaofo is due to switch on in about two weeks, followed by the next system in about six weeks. These systems would be able to withstand cyclone force winds up to 230 kmh and will be monitored by Powersmart Solar remotely and work with the Tokelauans to diagnose any issues. Please view some of the details of this historical event in the video below:
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
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Tags: 100%, Atafu, atolls, clean energy, Fakaofo, Is The Future, Mike Basett-Smith, New Zealand territory, Nukunonu, percent, Powersmart Solar, renewable energy, solar, Solar Energy, South Pacific, Sun, Sun Is The Future, sunisthefuture, sunisthefuture.com, susan sun nunamaker, Tokelau, www.sunisthefuture.net