Tonga Power to switch on 1-MW PV power plant by Aug - report

May 22, 2012 - Government-owned company Tonga Power Ltd expects its 1-MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant to start operation by August, news website Matangi Tonga reported today, citing the company's general manager John Van Brink.

By August, the Popua Solar Farm will be able to produce 1,880 MWh of power annually, enough to meet some 4% of Tonga's total demand, Brink said. The facility, which costs more than USD 12 million (EUR 9.4m), is Tonga's first solar power plant, according to the website.

The New Zealand government financed the project and green energy developer Meridian Energy built it. Meridian Energy will run the plant for three years, after which Tonga Power will take over, the website said.

Under the Tonga Energy Roadmap 2010-2020, the government aims to source 50% of the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2012, thus cutting total power costs by 50%.

In January, Abu Dhabi's state-owned green energy firm Masdar said it had agreed with the government of Tonga to set up a 500-kW PV plant in the country.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.783)

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