3 June 2011: The first annual review meeting of the 2010-2020 Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM) took place on 23-24 May 2011, in Vava’u, Tonga, bringing together representatives from the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Australia, China, the EU and New Zealand, as well as development partners and regional organisations (including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), IUCN, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Pacific Power Association), to review progress made and chart the way forward.

The TERM is a ten-year road map that aims to reduce Tonga’s vulnerability to high oil import costs and enhance access to modern energy services in an environmentally-sustainable manner. In 2009/2010 IRENA, together with the Government of Tonga, developed an off-grid component of the TERM with the objective of providing Tonga’s outer island communities with access to renewable electricity.

During the last 12 months, a TERM Implementation Unit has been established, and various feasibility studies for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects are underway. However, in his opening address, Lord Tu’ivakano, Tonga’s Prime Minister, stated that implementation has been gradual, calling for increased efforts.

Participants agreed on an action plan for the upcoming year, including: a legal, regulatory and institutional review of Tonga’s energy sector; the restructuring of the national utility company; assessment of the potential for a range of renewable energy resources; and development of a financing structure. It was further agreed that IRENA and the TERM Implementation Unit will carry out an annual review of energy technologies and costs that will be a basis for power system planning and investments.

During the meeting, IRENA also presented its plans to conduct renewable energy readiness assessments for the Pacific Island States, based on the insights gained from the Tonga experience. The assessments will aim to build an effective and efficient policy framework to support renewable energy deployment. [IRENA Press Release]