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McCully announces NZ funding Tongan solar power plant

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Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:19a.m.

The plant will help provide cheaper energy to Tongan households

The plant will help provide cheaper energy to Tongan households

Tonga is to get its first solar power plant as part of a New Zealand Government boost to clean energy options in the Pacific.

Most Pacific island countries are still close to 100 percent dependent on fossil fuels for power generation.

Ahead of the Pacific Island Forum meeting, which officially opens on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Murray McCully unveiled a package to support energy alternatives and make power cheaper.

It will invest $7.9 million to fund the construction of a 1.3-megawatt solar plant on the Tongan mainland, Tongatapu.

The plant will help provide cheaper energy to Tongan households, which pay up to seven times more for retail electricity than New Zealanders.

Petrol and diesel also cost up to three times more.

"This public-private partnership is an exciting approach to delivering aid that also represents a possible model for similar infrastructure projects in the Pacific," Mr McCully told a Pacific investment summit in Auckland on Tuesday.

Tongan Prime Minister Lord Tuivakano said the investment would support his country's 10-year plan to reduce reliance on imported fuel.

It aimed to halve use of fossil fuels by the end of 2012.

The plant, to be built next year, will offset 470,000 litres of diesel a year once fully operational.

NZN

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Comments

06 Sep 2011 05:08p.m.

katrina wrote:

I agree that we should not be funding this project. The King of Tonga has enough money to fund it himself. We should be looking after New Zealanders high power bills first.

06 Sep 2011 03:01p.m.

Camsta wrote:

$7.9M This is theft of tax payer dollars. How about our own solar powered power plant? As a voter I am not remotely interested in funding the pacific Islands, we do that by holidaying there. How many Tongans come to NZ on holiday? Oh that right lot's as we saw at the airport yesterday welcoming their rugby team while I was at work.

06 Sep 2011 01:33p.m.

madness wrote:

I think the National Nazi's are starting to think they might have just cooked their goose and are going to get the votes they thought they would............funny that!! To get the Tongans' on side would give them a few more but I think even they are sensible enough to see what is happening and the all they are getting under the Nat's is poorer. Still looking forward to seeing the results.

06 Sep 2011 01:31p.m.

Chris wrote:

You dipshits should know that Tongan petrol and diesel costs 3 times more than it does here because of the tongan kings tax.Just like how our fuel in NZ should be a third of what we pay now because of our governments extremely high tax

06 Sep 2011 12:57p.m.

jj wrote:

Why dont they worry about our own country,after all it is our taxes that he is giving away too Tonga/Is this for the Tongans living in NZ to vote for them in the up coming elections,Seems like their snouts are of pigs and dont care a damn about our own NZ born Kiwi!s.Is the little ERG married too a pacific islsnder?

06 Sep 2011 12:54p.m.

michael potter wrote:

national are borrowing billions for 3 years ,what are they doing to pay this back. if they lose the election their will be no asset sales so nz will be in the pooh big time.
this tonngan deal is with money we don't have , what is this national party doing ,it's incompetent to borrow in this way. the election is seeing national borrowing more and more for popularity when we cannot afford it.
national will leave a legacy of debt that our grandchildren will be saddled with while key leaves to live in hawaii .