Power generation in the Solomon Islands is transitioning from heavy reliance on diesel fuel to a mix that includes emerging renewable sources like solar and hydropower. The country is prioritizing projects like the Tina River Hydropower Project and other solar initiatives to reduce costs, decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels, and improve energy access. While solar power and small-scale hydropower projects have been implemented, a large-scale hydropower project on the Tina River is a key upcoming development.
Current generation
- Dominance of diesel: Over 93% of the electricity generated is from diesel, making the nation heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels.
- Emerging renewables: Solar power currently accounts for a small percentage of total electricity, but its adoption is growing due to falling technology costs and government support, such as tax exemptions for solar imports.
Major renewable energy projects
- Tina River Hydropower Project: This is the largest project, a public-private partnership expected to provide 70-80 gigawatt-hours annually and meet over 70% of Honiara’s electricity needs.
- Solar energy projects: Initiatives are underway to install significant solar generation capacity, often paired with battery storage systems, in provinces like Guadalcanal and Malaita. This is intended to replace expensive diesel power and reduce electricity costs.
- Mini-hydro and solar: Various smaller projects are being implemented, including mini-hydro schemes in locations like Buala and Fiu River, and a pilot project using coconut oil for fuel in Lata.
Goals and benefits of the transition
- Reduced costs: Shifting away from expensive diesel will significantly lower electricity costs for the country and its residents.
- Energy independence: The transition aims to reduce dependence on imported fuels and increase the nation’s self-sufficiency.
- Environmental sustainability: By reducing fossil fuel use, the country can decrease its environmental impact.
The role of the Genset (Generator Set) in the Solomon Islands is absolutely critical and can be summarized in one word: essential.
Due to the country’s geographical challenges, underdeveloped infrastructure, and high cost of energy, gensets are not just a backup; they are the primary or sole source of reliable electricity for a vast portion of the population and economy.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of their role across different sectors:
1. Primary Source of Power (Where the National Grid Doesn’t Reach)
The Solomon Islands is an archipelago of nearly 1,000 islands. The main national grid, operated by the Solomon Power, is largely confined to the capital, Honiara, and a few other provincial centers like Auki and Gizo.
- Rural and Remote Areas: For the majority of the population living in rural villages and on outer islands, a small household or community genset is often the only source of electrical power for lighting, charging phones, and powering small appliances.
- Provincial Centers: Even in larger towns, the central grid can be unstable. Businesses, hospitals, and government offices heavily rely on their own gensets to maintain operations during frequent outages.
2. Backbone for Businesses and Commerce
In Honiara and other towns, no serious business can operate without a genset.
- Continuous Operations: Power outages are frequent. To avoid halting production, losing refrigeration, or shutting down services, every supermarket, hotel, bank, restaurant, and workshop has a standby genset that automatically kicks in during a blackout.
- Key Industries: The country’s important sectors like fishing (tuna processing) and logging are entirely dependent on large industrial gensets to run their machinery and processing plants, often located away from the main grid.
3. Critical Support for Essential Services
This is perhaps the most vital role. Gensets are a matter of public health and safety.
- Hospitals and Clinics: They require uninterrupted power for refrigeration of vaccines and medicines, operation of surgical theaters, life-support machines, and lighting. A genset failure in a hospital can be life-threatening.
- Telecommunications: Cell towers and communication hubs are equipped with gensets to keep phone and internet networks running during power cuts, which is crucial for coordination, emergencies, and daily life.
- Government and Emergency Services: Police stations, fire services, and government data centers use gensets to ensure continuity of critical services.
Enabler for Construction and Development
The entire construction industry in the Solomon Islands runs on gensets.
- Powering Tools and Equipment: From large-scale infrastructure projects (like roads and buildings) to small residential constructions, portable and fixed gensets provide the necessary power for cement mixers, welding machines, power tools, and site lighting.
5. Social and Community Role
- Community Hubs: In villages, a shared community genset might power a single light bulb for a community meeting hall, a freezer for a fishing cooperative, or a projector for a movie night, serving as a vital social and economic hub.
- Household Use: For families that can afford them, small petrol or diesel gensets provide basic modern comforts: lighting for children to study at night, power for a TV or radio, and the ability to charge mobile phones, which are a primary link to the outside world.