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Oceania & Pacific / Island & remote community

Nuie Island

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

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations9
System facts22
Sources reviewed10
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

The slug and archived title misspell Niue, and the archived 480 kW 'solar' value is a load figure, not generation capacity. Niue's national island grid has accumulated several distinct solar/storage phases: an early Optimal Power Solutions/Mitsubishi/Toshiba fast-response battery; a 2019 Vector PowerSmart project that brought total PV to about 1.1 MW and added a 0.80 MW/3.15 MWh Tesla battery and central EMS; and a much larger 2.79 MWp PV/8.19 MWh BESS project at Hikufenoga/Tamakautoa that was still approaching testing and commissioning in the latest government update.

Research status
Existing island grid operating, major expansion not yet proven commissioned. The 2019 hybrid demonstrated diesel-off operation and initially supplied 28.6% of energy from solar. A November 2023 lightning strike affected the BESS and solar infrastructure, and Niue soft-launched a relocated/new power station in November 2024 while working to restore and reintegrate storage and solar. A July 2025 UNDP summit account reported 38% renewable penetration. The latest Government of Niue construction update says the NZD 20.5 million Hikufenoga project was nearing completion, with testing/commissioning ahead and transfer to Niue Power Corporation anticipated in mid-2026. No completion/acceptance notice was found by July 20, so the expansion should remain construction/commissioning rather than operational.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
3 MW
Coordinates
-19.07378, -169.85208
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 Nuie Island?

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

Organization

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade / UNDP

Australia funded two new diesel generators and technical support for the relocated/new power station; UNDP/AREAN supported station-building and electrical infrastructure and later convened the 2025 energy summit. [4][5]

Organization

Government of Niue / Ministry of Infrastructure / Department of Utilities

National policy sponsor, project owner and public source for power-station recovery and current expansion progress. [2][3][4]

Organization

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Funded the 2019 project and NZD 20.5 million current expansion, and contributed NZD 2.5 million to relocation/restoration of the BESS after power-station changes and the lightning incident. [6][2][4]

Organization

Niue Power Corporation

Island electricity utility and intended owner/operator of the new PV/BESS assets after completion and handover. [2][3][6]

Organization

Optimal Power Solutions

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

Organization

Optimal Power Solutions, Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba

Participants in an earlier fast-response lithium-titanate storage/control project; Mitsubishi was the client, OPS supplied power electronics/control, and Toshiba is named in the battery integration. [8]

Organization

Sunergise

Construction contractor for the 2.79 MWp Hikufenoga solar/BESS expansion. [2][3]

Organization

Tesla

Supplier of the Powerpack 2 battery system used in the 2019 project and participant in the 2024 recommissioning work. [7][4]

Organization

Vector PowerSmart

Designed and built the 2019 600 kW PV, 0.80 MW/3.15 MWh BESS integration and bespoke energy-management system. [6][7]

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 Solar
480 [1]
Storage
200 kWh Lithium Ion [1]
Legacy data correction
Niue had about 342-343 kWp of installed PV around 2014 against approximately 480 kW electricity demand; only a small share of potential solar reached the grid because of instability/curtailment. The archived record transformed that 480 kW demand into solar capacity and listed 200 kWh storage, neither of which matches the original context or OPS's current 300 kWh project description. [9][8][10]
2019 solar portfolio
600 kW of new PV increased island-wide solar capacity to approximately 1.1 MW [6][7]
2019 battery
0.80 MW / 3.15 MWh Tesla Powerpack 2 BESS at the power station, integrated with old and new solar and diesel generation [7][6]
2019 initial performance
Over a five-month reporting period from May 2019, solar supplied 28.6% of energy and avoided more than 130,000 litres of diesel. Diesel generators were off 5-7 hours/day on average and up to 10 hours; Vector's six-month corporate account reported 320,000 kWh from the new 600 kW array and up to 12 diesel-off hours on sunny days. [7][6]
Current expansion
2.79 MWp PV and 8.19 MWh BESS at Hikufenoga/Tamakautoa, plus electricity-network safety and resilience upgrades; more than 4,000 panels and about 1,000 concrete foundations were reported in the latest progress update [2][3]
Current-project forecast
Government forecast of 816,000 litres of diesel and 2,202 tCO2e avoided in year one; the 2025 UNDP summit account separately cited up to 753,000 litres/year and more than 52,000 tCO2e across a 25-year asset life. Both are forecasts, with differing assumptions that are not reconciled in the public material. [2][5]
Renewable-energy target and reported progress
80% renewable electricity target; a 2025 UNDP account reported 38% penetration before the new 2.79 MWp project was commissioned [2][5]

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

2019 battery energy storage

Tesla — Powerpack 2

0.80 MW/3.15 MWh lithium-ion system. The public project material does not state module count, usable energy, warranty or present state of health. [7]

02

2019 energy management system

Vector PowerSmart

Bespoke EMS balances legacy/new solar, diesel sets and battery charge state; it starts/stops diesel, sends solar directly to load or storage, and reduces curtailment while maintaining grid stability. [7][6]

03

Earlier fast-response storage

Toshiba / Optimal Power Solutions

OPS currently describes 300 kWh of lithium-titanate storage integrated for Mitsubishi, delivering roughly 2C-3C transient response to cloud ramps and a rock-crusher load. A regional source also mentions a 120 kW battery system. The archived 200 kWh value and 500 kVA GSC label are not corroborated by the current OPS page. [8][9][10]

04

Current PV/BESS expansion

Model not publicly disclosed

2.79 MWp of PV and 8.19 MWh of battery storage are under construction. The reviewed government sources do not name panel, inverter, battery-cell, PCS or energy-management-system manufacturers/models. [2][3]

05

Diesel power stations

Model not publicly disclosed

The island historically used four 500 kVA diesel generators. The new station soft-launched in November 2024 includes two new generators, while both old and new stations remained available during transition; new generator manufacturers and ratings were not published. [6][4]

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.

  • Management

    OPS GSC Inverter – [1]

  • Storage

    200 kWh Lithium Ion [1]

  • 2019 integration architecture

    The EMS unified pre-existing solar arrays, 600 kW of new solar, the Tesla BESS and diesel generators on a live island network. Storage absorbed solar variability, shifted energy and allowed diesel engines to stop during favorable periods. [6][7]

  • Lightning incident and recovery

    A November 2023 lightning strike affected solar and BESS infrastructure. By the November 2024 new-power-station launch, government reported grid-control repair, cabling, fuel-tank and lightning-protection work and preliminary commissioning involving ComAp, Arnolds Switchboards, Generator Services and Tesla; reintegration was then expected in December. No final acceptance/test result was located. [4]

  • Current construction status

    The latest government update says over 4,000 panels were installed, roughly 85% of concrete works were complete and major BESS foundations were in place, with testing/commissioning and planned outages still ahead. Although its page gives a July 2026 completion date and says mid-2026 handover, that schedule is not evidence of completion. [3]

  • Phase-label warning

    Government pages label content for the same Hikufenoga/Tamakautoa, 2.79 MWp/8.19 MWh activity under different phase headings ('Phase 1' and 'Phase 3'). The capacities should be counted once, and the project should be identified by site and scope rather than page heading alone. [2][3]

  • Island-grid boundary

    This is Niue's national isolated electricity system serving government, households, commercial loads and industry, not a standalone community microgrid at one building. Diesel remains necessary while renewable/storage assets are repaired and expanded. [4][5][3]

  • Open evidence gaps

    No current hourly/annual energy mix, diesel generation, outage indices, tariff/savings result, battery capacity test, lightning-damage inventory, 2026 acceptance certificate or as-built vendor schedule for the new project was found. [3][2][5]

Provenance

10 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 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
    Niue Renewable Energy

    Government of Niue · Primary source

  3. [3]
  4. [4]
  5. [5]
  6. [6]
  7. [7]
    Vector PowerSmart for the Niue Renewable Energy Project

    Sustainable Energy Association of New Zealand · Secondary research

  8. [8]
    Niue Island Project, Pacific

    Optimal Power Solutions · Primary source

  9. [9]
    Niue Strategic Energy Road Map 2015-2025

    Government of Niue / Pacific Community · Primary source

  10. [10]
    Archived Nuie Island record

    MicrogridProjects.com via Internet Archive · Archived source

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