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Oceania & Pacific / Island & remote community

Tokelau Island Microgrid

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

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations6
System facts15
Sources reviewed11
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Tokelau's Renewable Energy Project is three separate solar-battery-diesel island systems—one each on Fakaofo, Nukunonu and Atafu—not one electrically interconnected island microgrid. Completed in 2012–2013, the portfolio totals about 930 kWp PV and roughly 8 MWh nominal 48 V lead-acid storage. Its celebrated '100% solar' status described the initial design/early operation; UNDP reported in 2023 that growing demand and battery shortages had reduced solar's actual share to about 75%, with diesel again providing the balance.

Research status
All three systems remain under Tokelau's Department of Energy, and the Government still describes the 2013 solar transition. PowerSmart received a maintenance contract in 2015 and repairs/upgrades were reported later, but the latest quantitative status found is UNDP's November 2023 estimate: 75% solar and 80% lower diesel imports than before the project. No 2024–2026 atoll-by-atoll generation, battery replacement or outage report was located; operational solar-diesel hybrids are supported, continuous 100% renewable operation is not.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
930 kW
Coordinates
-9.20020, -171.84840
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 Tokelau Island Microgrid?

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

Organization

Government of Tokelau / Department of Energy

Project lead, owner and utility responsible for supply and maintenance across all three atolls. [2][3][5]

Organization

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Co-funder and development-program partner. [5][8]

Organization

PowerSmart Solar (now Vector Powersmart lineage)

EPC/installer, trainer and later maintenance contractor. [8][10]

Organization

SMA

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

Organization

SMA Solar Technology

Sunny Boy, Sunny Island and charge-controller/multicluster equipment supplier. [7]

Organization

UNDP

Current development observer reporting 2023 solar share and diesel-import reduction. [4]

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
930 [1]
Storage
8064 kWh [1]
PV by atoll
Final program evaluation: Fakaofo 365 kWp, Nukunonu 265 kWp and Atafu 300 kWp, 930 kWp total. IRENA's earlier Government-supplied table reports 330/264/297 kWp (891 kWp), reflecting a different design/as-built date; final totals are preferred. [5][6]
Battery storage
Legacy aggregate 8.064 MWh nominal lead-acid at 48 V. IRENA reports 179,200 Ah aggregate at 48 V (about 8.60 MWh nominal), while final project descriptions commonly round to about 8 MWh; differing battery rating conventions/dates are preserved. [6][7][5]
Example atoll architecture
SMA's representative system lists 260 kWp PV, 156 kW battery-inverter power, 2.3 MWh storage, a 60 kW diesel generator, 390 MWh/year available solar energy and 1.5–2 days autonomy. It is one example, not a rating to multiply blindly across all atolls. [7]
Portfolio equipment count
4,032 PV modules and 1,344 lead-acid batteries across three systems; project sources differ on inverter counts depending on whether PV, battery and charge-controller devices are all included. [8][5]
Current energy mix
UNDP reported approximately 75% solar in 2023 and 80% lower diesel imports versus the pre-project baseline. This supersedes unqualified 100% claims for current operations. [4]
Budget
NZ$8.45 million in the program evaluation; early public figures around NZ$7–8 million reflect different funding/budget stages. [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

PV/battery power electronics

SMA Solar Technology

Sunny Boy PV inverters, Sunny Island battery inverters, Sunny Island Chargers and Multicluster Boxes; models/unit counts vary by atoll. [7][8]

02

Battery banks

Model not publicly disclosed

Large ventilated 48 V lead-acid banks in purpose-built or adapted battery rooms; battery manufacturer/model and current replacement fleet are not established in current sources. [8][6]

03

Backup generation

Model not publicly disclosed

Diesel gensets retained on each atoll; early plans discussed coconut-oil biofuel, but 2023 evidence confirms imported diesel still contributes. Genset makers/models are not consistently published. [2][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.

  • Network boundary

    Fakaofo, Nukunonu and Atafu have no electrical intertie; each AC island grid independently balances PV, battery and generator resources. [5][9]

  • Early performance

    The 2013 technical review estimated Fakaofo at about 437 MWh/year PV and 54 MWh/year diesel, but noted inadequate data logging and estimated several values. These are commissioning-era estimates, not current output. [9]

  • Degradation/load growth

    Government reporting by 2016 said demand had risen above original 45 kW design assumptions to 50–55 kW and system efficiency had declined; UNDP later cited battery shortages. This explains the return of diesel without implying the PV arrays were retired. [11][4]

  • Resilience/design

    Battery buildings used thermal mass, cross-ventilation/fans and local construction; the plant was designed for around 1.5–2 days storage autonomy and retained gensets for prolonged low-solar conditions. [8][7]

Provenance

11 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]
    Solar Project

    Government of Tokelau · Primary source

  3. [3]
    Energy and Telecommunications

    Government of Tokelau · Primary source

  4. [4]
    Pacific shores, solar solutions

    UNDP Climate Promise · Primary source

  5. [5]
    Renewable Energy Investments in the Pacific: A Process Evaluation

    New Zealand MFAT / OECD evaluation repository · Primary source

  6. [6]
  7. [7]
    Sunny Island System Guide — Tokelau case

    SMA Solar Technology · Primary source

  8. [8]
    Tokelau Renewable Energy Project Case Study

    Government of Tokelau / New Zealand MFAT · Primary source

  9. [9]
    Tokelau Renewable Energy Project Review

    IT Power / Pacific regional energy repository · Primary source

  10. [10]
  11. [11]
    Beyond Tokelau's 100% solar: add wind power

    Government of Tokelau · Primary source

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