A limited wind resource assessment has been carried out in Yap and sufficiently high wind areas have been located on the main island that may allow cost effective power generation. Detailed assessments were planned for 2013 at two high-wind sites, one close to Colonia, Yap, and the other at Tonowas, in Chuuk. The resource in these areas is seasonal and, based on weather measurements, appears modest, but there may be areas of sufficient wind to support a cost-effective installation. Source: IRENA Country Lighthouse Report.
There is very limited data on wind energy potential in Vanuatu. A Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat project monitored wind speeds at a site on Efate in the mid-1990s, finding average speeds of 5.0 m/s in 1995 and 4.2 m/s in 1996, well below the 6 m/s generally considered to be necessary for economic electricity production. However, only 63% of data was recovered in 1996, so these results should be treated with caution.
Eight sites in Fiji have been collecting long-term wind data with mast heights varying from 10 to 48 metres (m). Ideal wind energy measurements are made at a minimum of 30 m, although 50 m is preferred. Future wind measurement installations are to be all at 50 m. So far, measurements near the grid indicate that Fiji’s wind speeds offer marginal benefits for energy generation compared to the FEA’s historical generation costs. Some sites should be cost-effective for wind power installations given the FEA’s marginal costs for investments in new diesel generators.
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat’s wind and solar monitoring project is the main long-term data source for Rarotonga wind energy and is used to estimate wind regimes of other islands. At Ngatangila Point, Rarotonga, wind data recovery was 100% during two years of monitoring. The annual average wind speed was 5.5 m/s. The highest hourly and daily averages were 17.7 m/s and 14.0 m/s respectively.
- Report 1 - Feasibility of Resources and Sites for Waste-to-Energy Power Generation in Fiji.
- Report 2 - Waste to Energy Resource Assessment in Fiji.
Energy Resource Inventory of Fiji:
- Solar energy source
- Hydro energy source
- Wind energy source
- Biomass energy source
- Nauru’s wind resource is not well known although, based on airport and National Aeronautics and Space Administration wind data, it is probably only marginally cost-effective at present fuel prices.
A recently completed wind survey indicates that the windward side of Kiritimati Island has sufficient wind resource to provide cost-effective generation. One of the main issues is connecting together the small grids on the north-west cluster of settlements and also interconnecting the north-east settlement cluster separately. Each can be considered for wind power integration into the two resulting grids.
The PNG wind dataset is extracted from the 3TIER Global Wind Dataset, IRENA Global Atlas for Renewable Energy.
3TIER Global Wind Dataset can be downloaded from this link: https://irena.masdar.ac.ae/?map=324
Wind demonstration on Guam wind speeds. Data were collected from January 1982 through February 1983 at Bubulao, Guam.