Tokelau now totally on solar power

The remote Pacific islands of Tokelau have become the first territory in the world to generate their electricity entirely from solar energy, in a project hailed as an environmental milestone.Before the solar power grid was completed, the New Zealand-administered grouping of three coral atolls, with a population of just 1,500, relied on diesel generators for electricity.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."Many Pacific nations struggle to provide a high proportion of their people access to electricity, and even when they do, access to affordable electricity is a significant additional challenge."New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the US$7.0 million project had achieved a world first and Wellington was working with other Pacific nations such as Tonga and the Cook Islands to develop renewable energy."Completed on time and on budget, the project is an excellent example of how small Pacific nations can lead the way on renewable energy," he said.
MGLT's revolutionary thin-film solar panels capture a larger section of the light spectrum from the sun using relatively inexpensive materials like flexible substrates and various coatings. Perhaps this is one of several reasons why MGLT has a long and prosperous history of collaborating with the federal government. Earlier this month, MGLT received a $750,000 Phase II award from the United States Air Force as part of the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The goal of this two-year program is to develop ultra-high efficiency, thin-film solar cells that provide mobile electrical power for defense and commercial applications in space as well as on the ground. The work on this contract complements the work on high-efficiency solar cells previously funded by the Air Force and announced in November 2011.
Dr. Ashok K. Sood, President and CEO of Magnolia Solar Corporation, stated, "We are working to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic devices via novel materials combined with innovative device designs. Quantum dot structures with excellent structural and optical properties were demonstrated during the Phase I program and are intended to be incorporated into advanced photovoltaic devices during the Phase II effort. These structures have the potential to enable photovoltaic devices to reach new levels of performance for power output efficiency."