New solar Development in Vanua Levu sets Benchmark for our Renewable energy Commitment

The launch of the Great North Seafood Solar at Vakamasisuasua Industrial Sub-Division in Labasa by the Minister Jone Usamate is a significant development in our gradual shift to renewable energy.

At the moment, Mr Usamate says, we are using between 50 and 60 per cent renewable energy.

The Gold Hold solar company is developing a facility that will run entirely on solar energy. It sets a new benchmark for commercial operators.

It’s in line with our national and international commitments to reduce the use of fossil fuel which contributes to global warming, sea level rise and wild weather patterns. We are setting an example that we practise what we preach even though the switch from fossil fuel to renewable energy like solar is not cheap.

The start-up cost is expensive, but the savings in the long term is worth the investment.

The Monasavu Hydro Power Station is an excellent example of clean alternative and source of energy.

It uses the water to drive the turbines that generate electricity. Other renewable sources of energy are wind, biomass and geothermal.

The Government has been working to develop biomass and geothermal power.

In 2017, LAWI Engineering GmbH commissioned a multi-fuel boiler island for a 12MWe biomass plant that suits the needs of the people, loads power to the public grid and uses locally available feedstocks.

Geothermal developments in Vanua Levu have transformed the lives of ordinary people including some in remote areas where refrigeration plants are helping them to preserve food longer.

For commercial fishers, it’s a huge relief because they can store unsold or surplus catches for longer periods. Preliminary work has been done in Sigatoka on wind power farms.

The result was not positive and more work needed to be done to ascertain its commercial viability

The economic and environmental benefits of renewable energy are many.

We are seeing them here and we need to do more to achieve 100 per cent dependence on it. Environmentally it will give us that clean green image that we have talked about so often. Phasing out fossil fuel is a major exercise that will cost money and take longer. Research, experiments and trials come with their challenges and costs. The electric car is a possibility for the future .

Whatever we do, like the rest of the world, it’s a race against time. Under the Paris Agreement, the signtaries agreed to reduce global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We are doing our bit despite our negligible carbon footprint. We are now recognised as a global leader In climate change action when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. Our Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is at the forefront of this global campaign.

Recently, we experienced weather events that drive the point home that climate change is real. We must get serious with everything we do that relates to climate change. From littering on land to trashing our waterways and ocean to air pollution, we are morally responsible to keep our environment clean.

So anything that helps us achieve it like the solar development in Vanua Levu will go a long way towards achieving our climate change goals.