Photovoltaics for household energy use in Pacific Island nations (Fiji study)

Remote communities in the small islands of the South Pacific Nations have long had a problem with regard to household electrification. Diesel generator sets placed in areas where servicing and spare parts have been problematic generally have not provided the best answer. One solution mooted in the early 1980s was to use individual photovoltaic systems coupled to a storage battery, controller and high efficiency fluorescent lights. The present paper details the operating experience of 224 such systems installed in Fiji over a period starting in 1983. Some reference is made to similar surveys of installations in Tonga and Tuvalu. The conclusions show that PV technology has not worked as well as it was first hoped. Some of the problems have been poor equipment , undersizing of the systems and a lack of maintenance. In particular the householders tended to use the lighting 'to the limit' with the result that the lead acid battery pack was often in a state of near continual discharge leading to the eventual future of the battery.