Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR, February 14, 2006
An Island Nation in Pursuit of Energy Alternatives
HANNOVER FAIR 2006, April 24-28
- First-ever
participation of a south pacific company from Samoa
- Welcoming
future technologies powered by hydrogen and fuel cells
“We have devoted ourselves to the application
of renewable energies, whether from biological resources,
from wind and hydraulic power, from hydrogen and fuel
cells—every reasonable concept is interesting
for us.” Muaausa Joseph S. Walter is the General
Manager of Electric
Power Corporation (EPC) of Samoa,
the first south pacific company to ever exhibit at
the HANNOVER FAIR in Germany. Representing this 4-island
nation—Upolu, Savaii, Manono and Apolima islands—EPC
will participate at the Group
Exhibit Hydrogen + Fuel Cells (Hall 13) alongside over 125
exhibitors from
more than 32 countries, April 24-28 at the HANNOVER
FAIR 2006.
EPC is the only energy supply company in Samoa and
is therefore responsible for all generation, transmission
and distribution of electricity. They have 3 diesel
power plants with around 22 MW of capacity and five
hydraulic plants with around 12 MW at their disposal.
The maximum demand sums up to ~19 MW and the infrastructure
reaches 95% of the Samoan people. EPC currently has
32,289 customers, the majority of which reside on Upolu
(78%) and Savaii (21%).
Up until the end of the 1980’s, a diesel power
generator was still the only electrical source for
many in and around the capital city Apia. Due
to the founding of EPC by the Samoan government in
1972, such diesel generators are only used as back
up now. EPC presently supplies energy to consumers
from the city to even the remote inland regions.
At the beginning of this decade an initial reform
of the entire public sector of Samoa led to a strong
commercial orientation of EPC, a change in supply and
tariff structure as well as a new organization of management.
For the first time in EPC’s 30-year history,
they were finally able to claim their own company profits.
At the same time Samoa received the international prize
for “Social Responsibility” –in recognition
of a special discount tariff strategy for low-income
customers.
Electricity in Samoa is not exactly inexpensive: for
the first 50 KWh of the month the cost is around 0.19
Euro/KWh. From 51 to 200 KWh the cost increases to
0.23 Euro, and everything over 200 is billed at 0.27
Euro/hour. Commercial customers pay a set rate of 0.23
Euro/KWh. An average European household, with refrigerator,
home electronics, washing machine and electric stovetop,
including continuous ventilation yet without any air
conditioning, can readily expect a 300 Euro power bill
each month.
A typical Samoan household with a minimum wage of
only 0.65 Euro/hour cannot afford such costs. Thus
most homes have only a refrigerator, radio, TV and
a few lights—energy-saving lamps, of course.
Cooking as well is done over an open fire or with gas
or kerosene. A conservative use of 50 KWh or less per
month adds up to an affordable 10 Euro power bill.
Conserving energy is therefore an understood for Samoans
and likewise is the search for alternative energy sources.
Already in the 1970’s, they implemented hydraulic
power for energy production that intermittently provided
up to 50% of the demand (today only 25%). At present,
with the support of the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), a pilot project is underway for the
assessment of a potential wind power plant. Additionally
the small island of Apolima (80 inhabitants) will shortly
be converted entirely to solar energy.
Of particular interest is the substitution of imported
fossil fuels with locally produced energy. Since there
is neither coal nor crude oil nor gas resources, renewable
primary products should be relied upon, ideally. Coconuts,
for example, have been a central focus of the current
dilemma. Coconut oil is easily produced in Samoa, however
despite the quite large refinery at their disposal,
high transportation costs make a world market impossible
for them. Their local coconut oil production is choked
through the high transportation costs of imported fossil
fuels.
In a statement about his participation at HANNOVER
FAIR 2006 Walter demonstrates his openness for all
ideas, how we can take this abundantly available yet
untapped biomass energy and convert it into usable
electric energy. He especially sees the challenge in
his homeland of diminishing anxiety and the dependence
on imported fuels, and even to the point of obsolete.
Currently Samoa imports 15 million liters exclusively
for the production of energy. For Walter, it is a social
responsibility to redirect these effluent efforts of
importing energy to the economically week regions of
the country, where agriculture is the only source of
income. Replacing importation with new energy sources
opens up the doors for providing consistent energy
supply as well as assisting low-income communities
to reach a solid income standard.
With his participation at Hannover and more so the
future potential of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies,
Walter expects to see more groundbreaking momentum
for clever and well-engineered energy concepts. The
pilot projects in Samoa offer help and hope to island
nations worldwide who desire to have independence from
the crude oil industry.
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