The Fiji sun reported on 26 April that 2 geothermal sites had been found on Vanua Levu - one in Labasa and one near Savusavu. Should research show these resources are viable, they would be used for steam generation that would in turn be used to generate electriciy.
Also in the paper was an article about the participation of Fiji in the recent Second Global Clean Energy Forum held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This article highlighted the call from the International Renewable Energy Agency to scrap over $300 billion in subsidies provided to consumers of fossil fuels globally, which compares to just under $60 billion in subsidies for renewable energy research and deployment.
The article also mentioned renewable energy in Fiji - in particular the hydro resources (around 38 GWh installed capacity and 101GWh under development), the 10MW Butoni Wind Farm (37 x 275kW turbines) and a non-operational hybrid wind-diesel system in Nabouwalu.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (which uses the thermal differential between surface and deep ocean waters to extract energy) is reported to be a concept that a Japanese consortium considers feasible for Fiji, with a 1MW plant proposed for Somosomo Bay on Viti Levu's Coral Coast.
Fiji's National Energy Policy Framework (NEPF) allows independent power producers to supply the electricity grid. The use of bagasse (a by product of sugar production) for biomass fueled electricity generation apparently provides about 3% of Fiji's electricty and under the NEPF a number of co-generation facilities have been established by wood processors and specialist biomass energy producers.
Given that the bulk of electricity consumed in the Pacific Islands is generated using diesel-fueled generators, it is encouraging to see the development of renewable energy sources.
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