Pico-hydropower potential in Solomon Islands to aid rural electrification

Abstract

Solomon Islands suffers from low rural electrification rates despite the availability of international funding for large-scale hydropower and other grid-expansion projects. While such funding has helped to increase electrification near large population centres, rural communities still rely on imported diesel and small solar systems. This study investigates the use of pico-hydropower (<5 kW) as a potential renewable energy source that aligns with the energy requirements of rural Solomon Islanders. The analysis is performed using publicly available data, an analysis of existing electricity policy in Solomon Islands, and the commercial availability of different pico-hydropower technologies. We show that the use of pico-hydropower, particularly those with very low capital costs, would be both economically and productively competitive compared with the existing electricity generation technologies in Solomon Islands to aid increased rural electrification.