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Africa & Middle East / Island & remote community

St. Helena Island Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations7
System facts24
Sources reviewed8
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

St Helena's island power system remains an operational diesel-wind-solar hybrid operated by Connect Saint Helena, but recent evidence is a deterioration story rather than a completed renewable transition. The installed renewable fleet historically comprised twelve 80 kW WES wind turbines (960 kW) and five named solar installations totaling about 678 kW nominal. The principal active diesel fleet is four Caterpillar sets totaling 5.6 MW, with two older 1 MW RK215 sets also listed historically. A 2020 PASH contract announced 568 kWp of solar, 2.7 MW of wind, and a 3.2 MWh/3.5 MW battery, but COVID-era cost escalation and supply constraints led to termination in November 2021; talks with a reserve bidder also failed in 2022, and nothing was installed. Audit St Helena reports renewable share falling from about 21% in FY2021/22 to 19% in FY2022/23 and 13% in FY2023/24; the regulator reported only 11% in FY2024/25. Wind output fell sharply as the 12 aging turbines—now roughly 12–26 years old—became less available. The island remains diesel-dominant and has suffered generator failures, load shedding, subsidy pressure, and a nine-hour outage in January 2023. Government's revised target is 80% renewable electricity by FY2027/28, but the 2026 audit found planning and delivery weak and did not identify a commissioned replacement project.

Research status
Operational island grid, currently diesel-dominant with aging wind assets and declining renewable share. The 2020 PASH renewable-plus-storage expansion was cancelled in 2021 and never installed; an 80% renewable target for FY2027/28 remains a plan.
Historical classification
Island
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
-15.96560, -5.71153
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in St. Helena Island Microgrid?

7 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

Audit St Helena

Independent public auditor of Energy Strategy implementation [3]

Organization

Connect Saint Helena Ltd.

State-owned electricity utility and operator of diesel, wind, and solar generation and the island network [3][6][4]

Organization

MACE

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

PASH Global

Selected developer under the 2020 power-purchase agreement that was terminated in 2021 before construction [3][4]

Organization

St Helena Government

Utility owner, policymaker, subsidy provider, and sponsor of renewable procurement [3][4]

Organization

St Helena Utility Regulatory Authority

Utility regulator; its FY2024/25 assessment is cited by the 2026 audit [3]

Organization

Wind Energy Solutions / Ecoways

Supplier lineage for the twelve WES80 wind turbines [6][8]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Wind
960 [1]
Storage
NA [1]
Installed wind fleet
Twelve WES18/80 turbines rated 80 kW each, 960 kW nominal total; installed in three cohorts beginning in 1999, around 2008/09, and 2013/14 [6][5][8]
Installed solar fleet
Five facilities totaling approximately 678 kW nominal: Seales 25 kW, PS 41 41 kW, Carnarvon 20 kW, CCC 92 kW, and Rifle Range 500 kW [6]
Principal diesel fleet
Three 1.6 MW Caterpillar 3516B sets plus one 800 kW Caterpillar 3508B, 5.6 MW total, installed in 2012; two older 1 MW RK215 sets were also listed historically but were not shown generating in the 2018/19 operational data [6]
FY2022/23 energy mix
Approximately 8.312 GWh diesel, 0.979 GWh wind, and 0.927 GWh solar—about 81% diesel and 19% renewable [3]
Renewable-share trend
About 21% in FY2021/22, 19% in FY2022/23, 13% in FY2023/24, and 11% in FY2024/25 according to the regulator cited by Audit St Helena [3]
Wind-output deterioration
Annual wind generation fell from 2.453 GWh in FY2015/16 to 0.979 GWh in FY2022/23 as turbines aged and fewer remained operational [3]
Cancelled PASH announced scope
May 2020 announcement: 568 kWp/500 kW solar, 2.7 MW from three wind turbines, and a 3.2 MWh/3.5 MW battery, expected to supply 9.133 GWh/year. Audit documentation describes an earlier/contract scope of 500 kWp solar, 1.8 MW wind, and 2.7 MWh battery; neither version was built [4][3]
Renewable target
80% renewable electricity by FY2027/28 under the 2023 Renewable Energy Policy and Connect's August 2024 Energy Delivery Plan; this is a policy target, not installed capacity [3]
Historic baseline
In 2012/13 the island generated 9.666 GWh, with 9.13% from renewables and roughly 2.2 million litres of diesel consumed for electricity [7]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Wind turbines

Wind Energy Solutions — WES18/80 (also marketed as WES80)

Twelve 80 kW two-bladed turbines, roughly 18 m tower height and 8 m blades, installed in cohorts over 1999–2014 [6][5][8]

02

Diesel generation

Caterpillar — 3516B

Three 1.6 MW units installed in 2012 [6]

03

Diesel generation

Caterpillar — 3508B

One 800 kW unit installed in 2012 [6]

04

Legacy diesel generation

RK215

Two 1 MW units installed in 2001 and retained in historic inventory; the 2018/19 table did not show them operating [6]

05

Solar photovoltaics

Model not publicly disclosed

Five named solar facilities totaling 678 kW nominal by 2019; manufacturer and inverter models were not listed in the infrastructure plan [6]

06

Cancelled battery

Model not publicly disclosed

PASH's planned lithium-ion or other chemistry was not identified in the public announcement; the 3.2 MWh/3.5 MW announced system was never installed [4][3]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Generation

    Wind turbines: WES [1]

  • PASH chronology

    Connect signed the renewable PPA in May 2020. COVID-related inflation, material costs, and long lead times undermined the agreed economics, and the agreement was terminated November 15, 2021. Talks with the reserve bidder from February to July 2022 failed because its 2018 offer was no longer viable; procurement then ended. [3][4]

  • Reliability

    Generator failures and inadequate available reserve contributed to early-2023 load shedding; a generator failure on January 2, 2023 caused a roughly nine-hour outage. The evidence shows an island grid under asset-health pressure, not simply a renewable percentage shortfall. [3]

  • Asset condition

    By the 2026 audit, the wind fleet was roughly 12–26 years old and fewer of the twelve machines were operable. Diesel units were also about 12 years old. Published nameplate capacity therefore overstates dependable capacity. [3]

  • Economics

    Diesel dependence exposed the utility and government to fuel-price pressure. Government support and diesel-related rebates totaled about £2.7 million in FY2023/24, according to the audit. [3]

  • Delivery outlook

    The current 80% target replaced the unrealized 100% ambition. Audit St Helena found that planning had advanced more than implementation and that no completed replacement build closed the capacity gap by early 2026. [3]

  • Energy-mix interpretation

    The island is a real hybrid microgrid because diesel, wind, and solar are dispatched within one isolated network. It is not a high-renewables microgrid at present: FY2024/25 renewable contribution was reported at only 11%. [3]

Provenance

8 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2020-07-06

  2. [2]
  3. [3]
  4. [4]
  5. [5]
  6. [6]
    St Helena 2030 Vision and Infrastructure Plan

    St Helena Government · Primary source

  7. [7]
    State of the Environment Report 2012–2013

    St Helena Government · Primary source

  8. [8]
    St Helena Hybrid Wind-Diesel System

    Ecoways / Wind Energy Solutions · Primary source

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