PCREEE / DoE Demonstrations Drawing Crowds

More than 1000 people from across Vava’u including their Majesties, Ministers, Nobles and the local crowd were drawn towards the PCREEE/DoE display during the Royal Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism Trade Show which took place on 19^th July 2019 to promote the use of renewable energy for entrepreneurship and energy efficiency.

The crowd witnessed a live demonstration of productive uses of renewable energy where a solar PV system was used to power a sewing machine, an electric coconut scrapper and a blender. The crowd were mesmerized as to how easy and fast work can be done with electric machines power by clean and green energy. The demonstration implies renewable energy can be a game changer for rural population in terms of entrepreneurship and revenue generating activities. 

A woman leader in Vava’u, Ms ‘Anamalia commended the PCREEE and DOE staff for the great solar energy demonstration and said it is an eye opener for the community. ‘Thank you for bringing this initiative to Vava’u as all these are quite new to us, specifically the use of RE to power these other components as we are only used to using solar for lighting only.’

A further demonstration of energy efficiency in lighting was also highlighted as the crowd watched on. The energy consumption of a LED light was compared to the energy consumption of an incandescent light using a typical kWh meter used by the Tonga Power Ltd. There was a good appreciation from the mothers mainly as they understand how much they could have saved from using efficient lighting.

About Us:
The PCREEE is hosted by the Pacific Community (SPC) at Nuku’alofa, Tonga and is a regional entity working specifically to accelerate the Pacific Islands’ transition to renewable energy and energy efficient economies. The centre is part of wider SDG-7 multi-stakeholder partnership which aims at the establishment of a network of regional sustainable energy centres for small island developing states (SIDS) in Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Ocean. 

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