Auckland Mayor Visits Solar Farm Facility in Tonga 

From left to right, Tonga Power Finance Manager ( Mr Steven ‘Esau), Generation Manager (Mr Michael Lani ‘Ahokava), Auckland Mayor ( Mr Len Brown), Tonga Power CEO ( Mr John van Brink) and New Zealand High Commissioner ( Dr Jonathan Austin) at the Solar Farm Facility.

In his short visit to Tonga, Auckland Mayor, Len Brown and delegates from New Zealand took time to visit the solar farm currently under construction, and progressing well towards completion and the opening later this month.

In a partnership between Tonga Power Limited, Meridian Energy Limited and the Government of Tonga, with the support of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the solar farm project will contribute greatly to reducing reliance on imported diesel by approximately 470,000 litres per annum. The project will also reduce the electricity tariff which benefits the people and the economy.

On Friday last week, the Mayor was warmly welcomed together with delegates by New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga (Dr Jonathan Austin), Tonga Power Limited Chief Executive Officer (Mr John Van Brink) and Meridian Energy, Solar Project Development Manager (Mr Murray Hill) at the Solar Farm Facility in Popua.

With continued partnership providing high level expertise from Meridian Energy, the lead developer for the project and Tonga Power Limited, relationship between Tonga and New Zealand remains strong. “ It’s good  to see New Zealand companies and our overseas Aid programme achieve these progressive results with projects such as the Tonga solar farm, because proper infrastructure is vital for the development of our region – cultivating the Pacific economy is good for the islands and good for New Zealand.” Mr Len Brown said.

Meridian being the developer for this solar project, have gained expertise in solar energy developments in New Zealand and America, they use this to supply asset management for the facility in the next five years leasing it out to Tonga Power. In 2017, Tonga Power will have full legal ownership of the maintenance and operation of the Solar Farm Facility.

The Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM) aims to produce 50 % of electricity from renewable energy and this project is a tip of the iceberg to achieving this objective. The Solar Farm is expected to provide 4 % of Tongatapu’s electricity and generate 1,880 megawatt of electricity per hour, reducing electricity tariff in return.