17 Apr 2015

Tuvalu government to get new Solar panels

2:50 pm on 17 April 2015

Two New Zealand companies have started fitting solar panels to two government buildings on the country's main island, Funafuti.

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Photo: RNZ

The solar photovoltaic arrays, fitted by Solarcity and Infratec Renewables, are expected to generate 170 kilowatts of electricity.

The project is expected to deliver 5 percent of the island's energy requirements and reduce Tuvalu's dependence on diesel by up to 62,000 litres.

It is part of a wider energy initiative in the Pacific with funding from the New Zealand aid programme.

The scheme has already allowed Tokelau to declare itself 100 percent reliant on renewable energy.