1 Jul 2013

Tokelau moving forward with renewable energy

5:32 am on 1 July 2013

Tokelau is preparing to move into a second phase of its 100 percent renewable energy project.

Last year, five years after plans were made by the Ongoing Government, Tokelau became the first country in the world to source all its electricity from solar power.

It still has stocks of diesel as back-up but the energy minister, Faipule Foua Toloa, says they will use coconut oil to drive the diesel generators when needed.

"You know replacing the diesel and also the replacement of the whiteware - inefficient appliances, and then looking into actually replacing fuel also with coconut diesel for outboard motors which is also one of the areas we will be looking at."

Foua Toloa says Tokelau is also scoping the merits of wind energy as a supplementary power source.