want to become the second solar powered nation? all that's needed is we decide this is decidedly a good idea. we must get hopping as there are other countries moving toward the goal but read your history. ever hear of WW II?
i'm sure it's not realistic for a country of 300 million plus to be 100% solar powered but pick a number. 40%? 60? 75 and counting? a damn sight better off than now would we be. and don't worry about the fossil people. once they see we mean business, they'll be into solar the next morning. an old song had the line, "there's nothing to it but to do it". and here's to you Tokelau!
They might look like tiny specks in the Pacific Ocean, but the Tokelau islands have accomplished a big feat. Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand consisting of three atolls, has become the world’s first nation to get all of its electricity from solar power.
Before making the switch to solar, the territory — with a population of about 1,500 people — was entirely dependent on diesel for their electricity generation. According to AFP, the switch wasn’t just about being green:
Project coordinator Mike Bassett-Smith said the diesel was not only environmentally unfriendly, it also cost the islands, which lie about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, around NZ$1.0 million ($825,000) a year.
Bassett-Smith, from New Zealand firm PowerSmart Solar, said the change would allow Tokelau to switch money from fuel purchases to social welfare projects.
“For Tokelau, this milestone is of huge importance for their continued well-being,” he said in a statement received Wednesday.
New Zealand spent $7 million on the solar project.
Sure, it might seem like a minor feat with only 1,500 people living on the islands — about the size of tiny town. But consider this: how many towns with small populations can say they are 100 percent solar?
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
