Tonga and energy efficiency
Tonga, an island nation in the South Pacific, has made significant strides in energy efficiency and renewable energy over the past decade. With a population of approximately 104,889, the country has achieved near-universal electricity access, primarily through the adoption of solar photovoltaic technology. Following the Renewable Energy Bill of 2008, Tonga initiated the Tonga Energy Roadmap (TERM) in 2009, aiming to reduce dependence on imported diesel fuel and increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity generation. By 2022, over 13 percent of Tonga's electricity capacity came from solar and wind sources.
In addition to renewable energy goals, Tonga's strategy includes improving energy efficiency, which was further supported by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). This initiative has led to the implementation of energy efficiency regulations, including minimum performance standards for appliances. However, challenges remain, such as resource allocation and regulatory frameworks, which are critical for effective management of the energy sector. Tonga's experiences and successes in energy security have positioned it as a model for other nations in the Pacific, demonstrating the potential of integrated energy planning to enhance sustainability and resilience against natural disasters.
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Tonga and energy efficiency
Official Name: Kingdom of Tonga.
Summary: Thanks to the 2010–2020 Tonga Energy Roadmap, focusing on renewable energy and efficiency measures to achieve greater energy security, Tonga has become a model for energy-related improvements in the Pacific region.
Overview
The Kingdom of Tonga is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean, with an estimated population of 104,889 as of 2024. Despite the fact that more than 77 percent of Tongans live in rural areas, 100 percent of the total population had access to electricity in 2022, thanks to the growing use of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology.
In 2000, imported petroleum products accounted for 75 percent of Tonga’s energy supply. In 2008, the country passed the Renewable Energy Bill, and in order to reduce Tonga’s vulnerability to oil price shocks and achieve an increase in quality access to modern energy services in an environmentally sustainable manner, the prime minister’s office, together with development partners, initiated the Tonga Energy Roadmap (TERM) in 2009. As a ten-year plan covering the period from 2010 to 2020, the TERM aimed to achieve a 50 percent decrease in reliance on imported diesel fuel by 2020, as well as to supply 50 percent of generated electricity through renewable energy sources. This double goal made it one of the world’s most ambitious road maps of its kind.
The benefits of the TERM lay in its holistic approach to the energy sector, considering the elements of the chain of energy supply together rather than as separate, fragmented entities. This approach allowed for the aggressive implementation of renewable energy options in the country.
The first project supported by the TERM was started in 2010. A joint venture between the New Zealand Agency for International Development, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZAID), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the state-owned grid operator Tonga Power Limited (TPL), and Meridian Energy, this 1.4-megawatt centralized solar PV project was generating 1 megawatt of electricity daily for consumers on the main island of Tongatapu by mid-2014. TPL went on to install another 2.17 megawatts of solar generating capacity across four islands and 22 kilowatts of wind power capacity, and a 1.3 megawatt wind farm broke ground in 2018. TPL's Outer Island Renewable Energy Project sought to install 1.3 megawatts of renewable energy capacity on eight outer islands.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international agreement intended to address climate change, Tonga committed to the renewable energy target established under TERM, as well as a 9 percent increase in electrical distribution efficiency by 2020 and a target of 70 percent renewable energy by 2030. As of 2022, solar and wind energy generation accounted for more than 13 percent of Tonga's total installed electricity-generating capacity.
In the years after the Paris Agreement, Tonga continued to pursue its renewable energy goals and reaffirmed its promises to further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021. However, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption on January 15, 2022, along with the subsequent tsunami, led to widespread damage to infrastructure around Tonga due to flooding and ashfall; many Tongans also lost electricity and access to other essential systems, including cell phone service. This reaffirmed the commitment of Tonga and other Pacific nations to design and build energy infrastructure that could better withstand natural disasters.
Establishing Partnerships
Additionally, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), signed in 2012, has delivered on some of the energy efficiency regulation issues identified through the TERM. In particular, REEEP drafted an energy efficiency policy for Tonga and implemented the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and labeling for refrigerators.
The TERM’s peculiarity and key to success also lay in its innovative approach of working through a central coordination agency under the prime minister’s office. The TERM coordination unit managed all divisions linked to energy in order to take effective and coherent action on energy issues in general. For off-grid services, the Energy Planning Unit of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been the primary government oversight agency. It also acted under policy and planning provided by the Ministry of Finance and the prime minister’s office.
Moreover, the government of Tonga has played a role in sharing valuable experience with other nations in the Pacific region and beyond. Given the positive outcomes of its road map process, Tonga has openly offered to share the various steps it has taken to enable other nations to develop a similar approach. As a result, Tonga has gradually become a role model for energy security planning in the Pacific region.
Some structural and institutional barriers remain. The inadequate allocation of human and material resources has hindered the development of the energy sector. A lack of an adequate regulatory framework has also limited efficient management of the energy sector. The findings of the TERM have shown that the government of Tonga needs to put in place a long-term institutional arrangement to provide strong leadership, coordination, and oversight of energy-sector activities. The biggest finding, however, remains the fact that energy efficiency is a cost-effective response to fluctuating oil prices, ending oil dependency more quickly and inexpensively than other means. Tonga has therefore aggressively explored improvements in energy efficiency before adding renewables to its energy mix.
Bibliography
“Energy Resilience and Security in Focus as Pacific Recovers from Another Natural Disaster.” Pacific Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 12 Feb. 2022, pcreee.org/article/energy-resilience-and-security-focus-pacific-recovers-another-natural-disaster. Accessed 9 Aug. 2024.
Ritchie, Hannah and Max Roser. “Tonga: Energy Country Profile.” OurWorld in Data, 2020, ourworldindata.org/energy/country/tonga. Accessed 9 Aug. 2024.
“Tonga.” CIA World Factbook, 7 Aug. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tonga. Accessed 9 Aug. 2024.
United Nations Framework for a Convention on Climate Change. “Tonga: Initial National Communication.” 2005. unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/tonnc1.pdf. Accessed 9 Aug. 2024.