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Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement through Renewable Energy Project (PIGGAREP) - Cook Islands Interventions

Background

The Cook Islands consists of 15 islands totalling 240 km2 of land, located half way between Hawaii and New Zealand. The population in December 2001 was 18,027. The climate is maritime tropical with a small temperature difference between day and night and modest seasonal changes.

The Baselines

The Cook Islands are overwhelmingly dependent on imported refined petroleum fuels, which probably account for 90% of gross energy supply, biomass providing the remaining 10%, mainly for cooking. Petroleum imports in 2003 were about 11 million litres and expected to grow at 4.1% annually. Nearly 99% of all households had electricity in 2001 but with an estimated 8% growth in peak demand over the next decade.

Solar water heaters are well established and are found in nearly all the new housing and commercial buildings. Various solar photovoltaic installations for lighting, radio, water pumping, fish freezing and refrigeration on the outer islands but most have suffered from the lack of funds for post-installation support. On the other hand, Telecom has installed many PV generators, ranging from 600-7,800 peak watts (Wp) with excellent performance and high reliability due to the quality of installations good maintenance, using well-trained staff.

Like solar, various wind power installation have been installed in the Cook Is and have suffered from both inappropriate technical designs and the lack of expertise for post installation support.

Cook Islands has an adopted Energy Policy in which the goal for renewable energy is to increase the utilisation of renewable energy technologies in the Cook Islands energy supply. Under an aggressive effort to introduce renewable energy and improve energy efficiency, it is estimated that the Cook Islands could probably reduce the 2013 level of GHGs by a maximum of 13 Gg of which 84% would be from RE investments (wind, biofuel and solar) and 16% from EE.

The PIGGAREP Support

The PIGGAREP activities identified for the Cook Is is building on five (5) key on-going and parallel co-financing initiatives:

1. The Mangaia Power System Upgrade
2. The Rarotonga and Aitutaki Wind Power Development Project
3. The Pukapuka and Rakahanga Hybrid Projects
4. Biofuel Development Project
5. The Schools Environment Awareness

1. The Mangaia Power System Upgrade

Mangaia Island, one of the Southern Cook Islands, was beneficiary of a PREFACE (Pacific Renewable Energy France-Australia Common Endeavour) project, which comprised of the installation of two Vergnet 20 kW wind turbines in January 2003. A study conducted by SOPAC in 2007 revealed that the project if facing problems. These include:

• Communication between power house and wind turbines
• Reactive Power Consumption by Turbines
• Mechanical Failure of Wind Turbine Components
• Electrical Failure of the Wind Turbine components
• Less-than-expected diesel savings

The SOPAC study proposed the following interventions to the Mangaia grid:

• Expand Generation Capacity
• Build protective housing around the wind turbine electronics
• Overhaul of the Wind Turbines
• Establish communication link between wind turbines and power house
• Re-establish wind logging in Mangaia
• Review of the electricity tariff of Mangaia Island
• Include a storage and power conversion system
• Mangaia Power System Upgrade Monitoring

These interventions is estimated to cost around USD250,000. There appears to be French funding for about 50% of the cost but the Australians have not been able to confirm a contribution. If this does not materialise, the French Embassy is considering either 100% or go after a reduced version of the interventions proposed.

PIGGAREP will support the Mangaia Upgrade through technical assistance to review its electricity tariff. It will support the conduct of technical training for the engineers at the Mangaia Power Station. Community awareness training will be supported to give the community a better understanding of the role of the wind generators in their power supply but also for the community to appreciate and accept the outcome of their tariff review.

The Mangaia project has tarnished the reputation of RE in the Cook Islands. With the upgrade, PIGGAREP will support targeted public awareness campaigns to raise the profile and the acceptance of renewable energy in the Cook Is.

2. The Rarotonga and Aitutaki Wind Power Development Project

The UNDP Country Office in Samoa together with the PIEPSAP are currently supporting an 18 months wind resource assessment that will determine the potential for wind power in Rarotonga. The monitoring tower has three wind anemometers, fitted at three different levels -10 meters, 20 meters and 30 meters. Preliminary data from the assessment shows an average wind speed of above 6 meters per second. The Cook Island Government with support from the Asian Development Bank considers the development of a wind farm project based on the data collected. The project will consist of the installation and operation of up to 8 wind generators on a ridge in the Eastern part of the island. In order to more accurately estimate civil engineering cost for the project, PIGGAREP in August 2008 is funding a topographic and preliminary geo-technical survey on the proposed project site.

AusAID is currently funding a wind-monitoring project at Aitutaki. Aitutaki Power sends the data on a monthly basis to the Energy Office in Rarotonga. For Aitutaki, PIGGAREP will support the conduct of a feasibility study based on the outcome of the wind monitoring. PIGGAREP will also support the extension of the wind monitoring at Rarotonga and Aitutaki to Mauke, Atiu and Mitiaro (MAM).

3. The Pukapuka and Rakahanga Hybrid Projects

The Pukapuka PV project was installed in 1992 on 110 homes with 8 modules of 45Wp each and 17 homes with 12 modules of 45Wp each. The 8 panel PV design was intended to power a maximum of six high efficiency tube type fluorescent lights (2 at 18W and 4 at 13W) for 3 hours a day, small entertainment appliances (radio or cassette player) and either a solar type refrigerator (less than 0.7 kWh/day usage) or three hours of video use per day. The 17 homes having 12 modules shared their PV system with a nearby smaller house where additional lights were installed.

A stock take study of the project in May 2006 by the Energy Office made the following comments:

• Overall status of the PV system is beyond their life expected and are serving the island very well. However, the batteries require replacement if the system is to be upgraded. The panels need to be dusted and retested so that they can be upgraded.
• One of the problems acquired now is the vacant houses with Solar PV system on it. These systems cannot be left alone for a period of time or else batteries will be boiling.
• The high amount of controllers malfunctioning requires urgent replacements.
• The decision for a diesel power station for Pukapuka was agreed by the Island Councilors on the basis of economic development purpose such as fishing and other cottage industries, however this decision contradicts with the general view of the consumers. The merits of such proposal need to be further eveloped and consulted among the consumers.
• It is so apparent to secure local market for the supply of PV equipments and for government to consider the removal of levies on solar appliances and equipments if the PV systems are to be upgraded.

The study provided the following recommendations:

Option 1: Upgrade the Solar PV system on Pukapuka to meet each individual power needs rather than standardized for all households with the following recommendations:

• Initiate a renewable energy services company (RESCO) in country to provide services for the sustainability of the PV System.
• Provisions must be made for further new houses that will be built within the next 5yrs.
• Set policy guidelines for the institutional setup and maintenance programme for the sustainability of the project

Option 2: Install diesel power station for Pukapuka to provide opportunities for economic activities, as there are lot of young people unemployed, which they are migrating to the main land and abroad. Although there is a strong feeling among the general public that they still want their solar system it is a question of economic prosperity for island. The Solar system has served Pukapuka for over 10yrs and people have experienced and tasted the modern way of living, which at the moment cannot proceed due to the limited capacity. However, if this option is to undertaken, this report strongly recommends that an environmental and socio economic study be conducted on Pukapuka.

PIGGAREP will also provide support to the Pukapuka project through assistance to redesign and resize the system to fit individual needs as per option 1 above. Technical assistance will also be provided with regards to a new institutional and financial structure for the Pukapuka PV power supply and for a RESCO to provide services to solar PV installations around Cook Is.

4. The Biofuel Development Project

The opportunity to use copra oil for fuel is much higher in the Northern Group than in Rarotonga. Disposing used cooking oil is becoming a serious environmental problems in the Cook Is. There is currently an individual effort to collect the used oil, refine it and then use it in transportation.

PIGGAREP will support the biofuel effort by conducting a feasibility study in the Northern Group. It will also support the recycling of used cooking oil through an exposure visit training and the marketing and acceptance of the recycled oil in the local market.

5. The Schools Environment Awareness Programme

Many environment-related public awareness programmes, covering renewable energy, are currently underway in the Cook Is. PIGGAREP will support these through the establishment of a information centre at the energy office, an annual award programme for the tourism industry and the functioning of a working group to set a standard for RE equipments in the Cook Is.