Micronesia's energy consumption

Official Name: Federated States of Micronesia.

Summary: The Federated States of Micronesia constitute a small, independent state that is dependent on imported fossil fuels and diesel generators for its energy needs. It is exploring alternative energy sources in an effort to become more self-sufficient and to reduce its carbon footprint.

"Micronesia" is a term that refers both to a subregion of the South Pacific consisting of thousands of small islands and to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), an independent nation consisting of four states: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. The FSM consists of more than 600 islands, although the total area of all of these islands amounts to only about 271 square miles. The FSM has a population of approximately 99,601 as of 2024, many of whom are employed by the government. As a small nation with a per capita GDP of about $3,800, the FSM is highly dependent on aid from the US government. Since the FSM has no deposits of fossil fuels and few other mineral resources, the nation has a great interest in developing renewable energy sources that will both provide for its electrical needs and make employment opportunities available to its residents.

The area known as Micronesia was settled more than 4,000 years ago by people who lived under what was initially a decentralized, chieftain-based system of government. The Portuguese and later the Spanish arrived in the area during the sixteenth century, with the Spanish establishing sovereignty. Spain ceded the islands to Germany 1899. The Japanese took control of the islands in 1914, as Germany was engaged in World War I and unable to defend them. Then Micronesia was taken over by the United States after World War II. Beginning in 1947, the United States administered the FSM pursuant to a United Nations mandate as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In 1979, voters in the four Trust Territory districts that currently comprise the FSM elected to approve a constitution that would permit the FSM to become an independent nation. In 1986, the United States and the FSM entered into the Compact of Free Association (along with two other nations, Palau and the Marshall Islands), which marked the FSM’s emergence as an independent nation. In 2004, the Compact of Free Association was renewed.

The FSM’s economy is relatively unsophisticated, as indicated by its global per capita GDP ranking of 189th in 2023. Economic activity in the FSM consists chiefly of fishing and subsistence farming. Although the potential for tourism exists, few adequate facilities to house or entertain tourists and the FSM’s remote location make this, for now, an unrealized option. The FSM produced more than 190 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year and consumes about 180 gigawatt-hours. Large diesel generators that feed a centralized power grid are used for this purpose. As the FSM has no petroleum deposits, imported fossil fuels are required to run these generators. Energy use and generation patterns in the FSM in many ways can be traced to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands era. During this era, the costs of capital equipment, maintenance, and fuel were being paid for by the US government, which focused attention on issues such as the speed of installation and the logistics of supply.

Even after entering into the Compact of Free Association, the United States continued to provide subsidies that covered imported fuel. Again, this masked many of the issues associated with the FSM’s lack of an energy supply and changed only after the second Compact of Free Association went into effect in 2004. For the first time, the subsidies that had made generator fuel inexpensive ended. The effects of this were significant. Prices charged for energy generated by the state-owned power companies rose sharply. For example, the cost to consumers of a kilowatt-hour of electricity rose from 9.74 cents in September 2002 to 17.5 cents in April 2006, an increase of 80 percent. Faced with skyrocketing costs for energy, which were consuming nearly 40 percent of US subsidies, the FSM government began exploring alternative sources of energy.

The FSM’s widespread and decentralized geography make many conventional solutions for its energy needs irrelevant and inefficient. To that end, the FSM is investigating distributed power generation as a technologically, financially, and socially preferable solution. Microhydropower generators, which can provide energy for a few homes or a village, are thus being installed at multiple sites where feasible. Experiments have also been made producing diesel blends containing between 5 percent and 20 percent coconut oil, as this is a sustainable and locally grown option. Although the availability of coconut-oil blends is limited by available land, these might prove feasible for those who live on outlying islands, whose energy needs can be supplied by a small generator.

Bibliography

Hanlon, D. Remaking Micronesia: Discourses Over Development in a Pacific Territory. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998.

Hezel, F. X. The New Shape of Old Island Cultures: A Half Century of Social Change in Micronesia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001.

Lugg, A., and M. Hong, eds. Energy Issues in the Asia-Pacific Region. Pasir Panjang, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010.

"Micronesia, Federated States of." CIA World Factbook, 26 July 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/micronesia-federated-states-of/. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. "Micronesia (Country): Energy Country Profile." Our World in Data, 2024, ourworldindata.org/energy/country/micronesia-country. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.