South Pacific Nation to Go 100% Solar

Climate change has directly affected the small island state of Tuvalu. The island is only three feet above sea level, and at present their shoreline is already disappearing.

GoDaddy.com has even warned those getting .TV domains to avoid doing so because the island is sinking.

If you’re unfamiliar with Tuvalu, it is located between Australia and Hawaii. Over the past ten years, king tides have become more damaging, threatening the homes and livelihoods of the island’s population (12,000 according to the last known survey).

Instead of simply abandoning their homes, Tuvalu residents have decided to do something about it. Their government announced that their nation, the world’s fourth smallest nation, will be powered 100 percent by solar energy by 2020. The project will cost around $20 million (that’s $1,666 for every citizen of Tuvalu) and could serve as a model for other countries across the globe.

Takao Shiraishi, General Manager of the Kansai Electric Power Company, said in a press statement that although there are much larger solar power installations in the world, the Tuvalu solar power system is more meaningful to its end-users. It is the symbol of their fight against climate change. The nation’s 3,000 years of history could end completely if other nations don’t change their ways and decrease their carbon footprints as well.

The first phase of their solar energy project has already begun, with the installation of solar panels on top of the nation’s largest football stadium. This solar power system supplies five percent of the energy needed in Funafuti, the nation’s capital. In just 14 months of operation, it has reduced the consumption of generator fuel from New Zealand, by 17,000 tons. This has prevented the release of 50 tons of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. It also reduced the risk of diesel spills around the coral reefs.

The next phase is to build a solar power system for a school on Vaitupu, which is one of the outer islands. Other solar power plants will follow after this one, until the entire island will be running 100% on solar power.

Tuvalu might just be a dot in the world map, with only ten square miles of total land area, but if every nation follows its example, this could lead to the decrease of global carbon emissions.

This small nation’s fight for survival might just become a greatly-needed spark, for the global fight against global pollution.

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