About the project

The Popua Solar Farm will be a 1 megawatt photovoltaic solar farm and the first grid-connected renewable energy generation facility in Tonga. The construction of the solar farm is a step towards meeting the Government of Tonga’s Energy Roadmap target of generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2012.

The project involves an alliance between Tonga Power Ltd, the Government of Tonga and renewable energy developer Meridian Energy, with the support of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

The Popua Solar Farm will provide around 4 percent of Tongatapu’s annual electricity demand. This will reduce the country’s use of diesel by approximately 470,000 litres and decrease carbon emissions by over 2000 tonnes per annum. The project will also have a positive effect on reducing the country’s electricity tariff.

Visual simulation of the Popua solar farm

The Popua Solar Farm is being built at Tonga Power’s Popua Power Station, south east of Nuku’alofa, Tongatapu. The farm will cover a 2.5 hectare site adjacent to the existing diesel power station.

Latest developments

On 10 November 2011, site construction began. This was celebrated by a ground-breaking ceremony attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga, the Acting New Zealand High Commissioner, representatives of the Government of Tonga, Tonga Power Ltd, Meridian and Reid Technology.

Read more about the ground-breaking ceremony »

Why build a solar farm here?

Tonga's transition to renewable energy is likely to include a mix of options. Meridian's assessment to date shows that solar generation will play a significant role and compares favourably to other forms of renewable energy generation available to Tonga. The key attributes of solar generation in Tonga include it being a low risk technology, having low maintenance costs and being relatively quick to implement.

The Popua Solar Farm site is on unused land adjacent to Tonga Power Ltd’s diesel power station. This makes it easy and cost-effective to transmit the electricity into Tonga Power’s existing electricity network at the Popua Power Station.

With this project, Meridian will be further developing expertise gained on the CalRENEW-1 project in California, USA, in addition to demonstrating the commercial and technical viability of solar generation in the Pacific.

Visit the Popua solar farm Facebook page for more project updates