Sunergise launches 6-MW solar farm in Tonga, largest in South Pacific

New Zealand-based solar power utility Sunergise has recently inaugurated a 6-MW/6.9-MWp solar farm in the Kingdom of Tonga, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.

The project involved the installation of three interconnected, ground-mounted solar arrays in western Tongatapu – the country’s main island. Each has a capacity of 2.3 MWp and was built with the help of local civil, mechanical and electrical sub-contractors. It is backed by a power purchase agreement (PPA) between Sunergise New Zealand Ltd and Tonga Power Ltd.

The completion of the project was first delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and then the eruption of a submarine volcano in the Tongan archipelago that caused tsunamis.

The new solar farm should assist the Kingdom in reducing its reliance on imported fossil fuels. The government of Tonga has established a national energy roadmap under which up to 70% of Tongatapu’s electricity generation will be sourced from renewables by the end of 2025.

In addition to being the Polynesian country’s largest such facility, the Sunergise Tongatapu solar farm is also the largest in the South Pacific, according to Sunergise, which has now installed over 20 MW of solar arrays in New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and the South Pacific.

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