From left, Carl Sanft, Lord Tu'ivakano and John van Brink. Nakolo, 9 May 2013.

Tonga's first small wind turbine project on Tongatapu began with a dedication ceremony at Nakolo village on Thursday, May 9, ast the start of the work to erect  the wind tower.

The Tonga Power Ltd. project is expected to start operation in June.

The new technology which harnesses the energy of the wind by converting it into useable electricity could provide another source of clean and renewable energy for Tonga. This project is aimed to provide Tonga Power staff with experience in wind generation in Tonga, to ensure power can be generated constantly and there is enough wind resource to make a larger wind farm in the future.

Michael Lani 'Ahokava, Generation Manager Tonga Power said the 11kW Gaia-wind turbine will generate about 27,000 units or supplies power to 23 houses for one year.

He said  it is equivalent to the power  generated by 44 drums of diesel fuel. Tonga Power now burns about 65,000 drums of diesel fuel in one year. This project is a prelude to a much larger wind turbine project in which the Tonga Energy Roadmap Committee is considering to reduce fuel consumption.

The goal of this project has always been about capacity development and understanding the changing environment and Tonga Power will understand the new technology a lot better, he said.

Wind Turbine Project Manager Setitaia Chen expressed his excitement with the development of the new wind generation in Tonga.

He said although this wind turbine project is considered small scale, the experience and exposure that will be gained by Tonga power staff will be invaluable.

"I am confident to say if when we start building a wind farm on a larger scale we would all be ready like kites soaring high."

Viable

The Minister for Public Enterprises Hon. Fe'aomoeata Vakata said government's objective is to reduce the price of electricity and in order to achieve this we must reduce our reliance on diesel fuel for electricity generation, a target set by the Prime Minister, government and captured through the Tonga Energy Roadmap (TERM).

He said this project will help to confirm how much Tonga can rely on wind power because it is important to ensure that we take as many steps as possible to validate that wind generation is viable because there are examples in the Pacific where wind generation has proven not to be commercially viable.

If all goes well its very likely that we could see a wind farm that would reduce electricity price by some four seniti per kilowatt hour compared to diesel generation, then Tonga well and truly be running with wind, said the Minister.

Project

Funded by Tonga Power Ltd. with over $270,000 pa'anga, the work will include erecting the tower with the wind turbine bought from Glasgow's Gaia-Wind company and hook it into the network. 

The wind turbine has a 15-year plant life and will be approximately 18.4m high.

Attending the event was Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano, Carl Sanft chairman of the Tonga Power Board of Directors, Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Samiu Vaipulu, Tonga Power Ltd CEO John van Brink, chairman of the Electricity Commission Lord Dalgety, estate holder Lord Luani and residents of Nakolo village.