{"id":27904,"date":"2024-02-29T17:08:26","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T15:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=27904"},"modified":"2025-04-28T13:05:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T11:05:37","slug":"pacific-island-goes-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/29\/pacific-island-goes-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacific Island goes green"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a one-kilowatt Hydro Turbine was destroyed by a hurricane in 2015 the residents of Imaki Village, Tanna Island, Vanuatu spent the next eight years generating a few hours of electricity a day from an old petrol generator – on hire.<\/p>\n

That limited power was provided to a hospital and a school.<\/p>\n

Donations of two advanced turbines, along with the water management infrastructure came from New Zealand specialist Eco Innovation; and the electronic devices needed for 24-hour power supply were funded by a US benefactor.<\/p>\n

Groundwork laid by students and research fellows from the University of New South Wales <\/span>students’ <\/span><\/span>solar energy project:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00c9nergie renouvelable Vanuatu, <\/em>including a\u00a0solar array, mini-grid cabling, and hydropower systems helped pave the way for today’s installation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The power plant was then built by volunteer father-and-son team Edward and Michael Lawley (Eco Innovation<\/a>) with support from Colm Franklin (Independent Power<\/a>, NZ) and design help from Hugh Piggot (Scoraig Wind<\/a>, UK).<\/p>\n

They spent a busy week on location – overwhelmed by the support of 300 locals who energetically provided their labour in order to secure reliable power.<\/p>\n

Hauling a thousand metres of 80mm polyurethane pipe through the jungle, carrying a ton of materials to site on their backs by wading uphill through the river, constructing a water course, installing the hydro generator, installing the power plant, and teaching the islanders how to maintain the installation themselves – was all achieved in eight days!<\/p>\n

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The power supply consists of:<\/p>\n