Governor Lolo said four years ago he sat down with the Executive Director of the American Samoa Power Authority Utu Abe Malae and challenged him to bring down the cost of electricity.
At the time people were paying 45 -46 cents per kilowatt hour, and said the governor, the cost of power was one of the biggest burdens people faced then.
As he stood on a hillside above Faleasao village before a completed and functioning project which uses the sun’s energy to produce electricity the governor conceded he never thought the challenge he gave Utu would be met as fast as it has been.
The governor was speaking at the commissioning of the Tau Renewable Energy Solar Project, dubbed the most modern of its kind anywhere in the world.
The system includes 1,410 kilowatts of photovoltaic panels and 6000 kilowatt hours of battery storage, plus three 275 kilowatt diesel generator s and a 480 vault switch gear.
The Tau solar project is now supplying power to all of the island of Ta’u.
Today, the island was powered with the stored up power from the battery storage which has enough capacity to provide electricity to the whole island for two days if the sun doesn’t come out.
Executive Director of ASPA Utu Abe Malae said this was the administration’s and ASPA’s response to the call from Manu’a leaders and residents.
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A similar project is to be commissioned in Ofu at the end of next month and when fully functional, Manu’a will be 100 percent powered by renewable energy.
Utu and the governor had a long list of people to thank for the successful completion of the Tau project including the American Samoa Renewable Energy Commission, the ASPA Board, the American Samoa Economic Development Authority and Department of Interior which provided the $8 million funding, the Fono, the contractor Solar City and several local companies which were associated with the project.
They also acknowledged the tapuaiga from the the three villages of Ta’u, Fitiuta and Faleasao and not the least, all of ASPA’s rate payers.
The contractor, Solar City, was represented by the Director Market Development Pacific region, Jon Yoshimura.
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Yoshimura presented gifts of bowls carved from Hawaii’s prized koa wood to Governor Lolo and Utu.
Fifteen young men from Ta’u provided labor and some have been retained to operate the system when the Solar City personnel leave.
The wife of Reverend Elder Iosefa Autele cut the ribbon and the celebration ended with sua presentations and lunch by the hosts for the governor of and his entourage from Tutuila which included Congresswoman Aumua Amata, lawmakers and the District Governor from Manu’a, the co chairman of the American Samoa Renewable Energy Commission Leifi Aliitama Sotoa, chairman of the ASPA Board Fonoti Perelini, members of the ASEDA Board and several directors.
