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Tonga turns on to solar power. - Source: ONE News -
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Tonga's dependency on diesel fuel could be about to come to an end thanks to a new solar energy facility.
The small island nation currently imports and burns nearly half a million litres of diesel a year to keep the lights on.
But that is expected to change now that a New Zealand-funded solar power facility named 'Maama Mai' - meaning 'let there be light' - has officially opened.
More than 260 delegates attended the celebration yesterday, including the Tongan King and Prime Minister and New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully.
As the country's first renewable energy project, Maama Mai is a first step towards the Tongan Government's renewable energy targets.
The development is expected to provide around 40% of Tongatapu's power and will mean cheaper electricity bills of four to six percent.
McCully says the price drop is significant.
"A major impediment to investment here is the cost of electricity, so it significantly limits the growth opportunities - over time we are going to change that," he says.
In the next six years the kingdom expects to produce half of its electricity from renewable resources.
"Diesel is such an expensive commodity here so moving from fossil fuels is so much more viable in this part of the world," says McCully.
The solar farm is located on land adjacent to Tonga Power's Popua Power Station, south east of the capital Nuku'alofa.
Construction on the project started in November 2011 and finished on time and under budget.