Energy



“Although Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) only produce a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, they will be experiencing the most severe impacts of climate change… However, most SIDS have significant renewable natural resources, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and biomass resources that can be used on a cost competitive basis for power, heat and cooling applications.” - Islands Program, Climate Institute, www.climate.org.



The Pacific Islands countries are highly dependent on petroleum as a source of energy [22].  They face several key challenges:

  • Energy supply is vulnerable, since most countries do not have their own sources of petroleum and they have limited storage capacity;

  • Petroleum is available at high prices as a result of the relative remote location of the islands;

  • Development of renewable energy resources is hampered by the unavailability of technology, lack of institutional mechanisms, and the remoteness of their markets [13];

  • Infrastructure (ships, pipelines, tanks, and processing plants) to use petroleum interfaces critical marine and coastal habitat, and poses an environmental risk should there be an accidental spill or during hazards, such as tropical storms;

  • Most of the islands are dispersed, such as the Hawaiian Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, where moving from the district centers to transport goods and services to neighboring islands requires extensive shipping infrastructure, which is further threatened by rising fuel costs [20].
Stadium with solar panel roof. Source SOPAC.


It is important to assess and understand energy use of the island populations in support of their livelihoods and lifestyles [22].  There are differentiations in energy needs based on gender, rural and urban lifestyles, socioeconomic class, age, employment, and cultural norms [4, 12, 24].  For example, women are more likely to require fuel for use in cooking and taking care of households [4]. Fishing, which is a primary economic sector in the Pacific, will involve large fuel costs for pelagic fisheries, in which more men are employed.  As fuel costs rise or when fuel to power boats has been unavailable, there is increasing pressure on nearshore fisheries, which has primarily been the area where women harvest food [12]. 

The remote nature of all the islands and the rising fossil fuel costs emphasize the need to focus on establishing sustainable energy resources, which will also be important for island communities in adapting to climate change even though the options are costly and must be carefully evaluated [23, 24]. Solar and wind power are additional sources of renewable energy that are being explored in Hawaii and in the other Pacific Islands [13, 19].  Measures undertaken by Pacific Island countries for development of sustainable energy resources include [22]:
Sigatoka Wind Farm, Fiji. Source SOPAC.

 
Coconut Oil Production in Solomon Islands. Source SOPAC. Alternative energy sources such as bio-fuels, solar and wind have been encouraged as a way to mitigate impacts of climate change.


Establishing policies and programs to develop renewable energy. 

  1. In January 2008, the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Energy established the “Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative” in which Hawaii would get at least 70% of its energy from a renewable source by 2030 [19]. 

  2. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), and many Pacific Island governments developed the Pacific Islands Energy Policies and Strategic Action Planning (PIEPSAP) project to address these and other energy concerns through strong, unified, regional level planning [13, 24]. 

  3. Quarterly progress reports document each country’s energy status and advancement towards PIEPSAP goals [14].

Investing in the development of renewable energy. 

  1. The State of Hawaii created the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) to conduct “energy and ocean-related research, education, and ocean activities in an environmentally sound and culturally sensitive manner” [10].

  2. Ocean Engineering & Energy Systems plan to build two of the world’s largest power plants using ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), one of which would be located at NELHA and would have a net production of 800 kilowatts [10].

  3. A Royal Dutch Shell and HR Biopetroleum pilot project at NELHA to grow marine algae and produce vegetable oil for conversion into biofuel [10].

  4. In January 2008, Oceanlinx, Ltd announced its plan to use offshore hydrokinetic technology (wave generated energy) to generate 2.7 megawatts of power for Maui, which is enough to supply 2,700 homes with energy [6]. 

  5. PIEPSAP supports targeted research efforts, including the use of coconut oil as a biofuel, and the use of solar energy through the establishment of micro energy service companies [13].

In addition to developing long-term climate change adaptation goals that increase island energy resilience, many islands have invested in hazard mitigation measures to protect energy infrastructure from tropical cyclones and other natural hazards.  Protection of the energy sector and resources, referred to as critical infrastructure and community lifelines, has been incorporated into all of the disaster response and hazard mitigation plans [15, 20].  Hazard mitigation measures include:

  • Burying electrical power lines.

  • Using concrete power and utility poles with high wind ratings.

  • Making plans to move plants and transformers located in coastal inundation or flooding areas.

  • Enhancing other critical facilities, such as hospitals and dialysis centers, and infrastructure, such as water pumping stations, by securing back-up generators and building redundancy to prevent interruption.

The Hawaii Energy Policy Forum’s Energy Efficiency Working Group reported on May 9, 2008 that six state buildings have been certified for EPA Energy Star ratings and two have been re-certified. An additional 25 state buildings are expected to qualify for Leadership in Energy Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard. One building at the University of Hawaii has been certified to meet the LEED Platinum standard. Energy upgrades at UH have reduced energy usage by 6.4% thus far, and the public efforts are expected to spill into the private sector as structural designs follow LEED standards (see weblinks for Hawaii Energy Forum and UH Center for Smart Building and Community Design).

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