• Tokelau islands shift to solar energy
• Pacific Island of Tokelau sets renewable energy record
• Tokelau: Coconuts and sunshine will power South Pacific islands

---

Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Tokelau islands shift to solar energy
7 November 2012 - The remote islands of Tokelau, which lie between New Zealand and Hawaii, has become the first territory able to meet all its electricity needs with solar power, officials say. New Zealand, which administers Tokelau, funded a $7m (£4.3m) solar project. 'The Tokelau Renewable Energy Project is a world first. Tokelau's three main atolls now have enough solar capacity, on average, to meet electricity needs,' New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said in a statement. (more)

Pacific Island of Tokelau sets renewable energy record
30 October 2012 - Tokelau, a small Polynesian territory in the central Pacific, has surpassed the rest of the world in replacing fossil fuels and raised the benchmark of achievement on sustainable development. Located north of Samoa, the three atolls, home to 1,411 people, will claim a world record when they switch to 150 per cent renewable energy 'sourced primarily from solar power' this week. (more)

Tokelau: Coconuts and sunshine will power South Pacific islands
13 September 2011 - Coconuts and sunshine will soon provide all the electricity demands of the South Pacific islands of Tokelau. By mid-2012, each island's electricity grid will be powered by solar photovoltaic cells, with batteries to store excess electricity for the night. During periods of thick cloud cover or when electricity demand exceeds solar supply, a purpose-built generator that runs on coconut oil will supply power and simultaneously recharge the battery bank. (more)