Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Pacific Island countries are "increasingly investing in renewable energy" to reduce electricity generation costs, which in turn will lower the energy costs for consumers, a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) briefing paper has found.

The policy paper published on 24 July by the ADB's Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative looks at renewable energy investments in Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga.

The paper found that between 2014-2024, utility companies in the six nations have been slow in adopting renewable sources of energy.

As result, the document says the cost of electricity has been higher.

However, recent investments in solar energy have proved to decrease the cost of production, the policy paper said.

It found that transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy will impact the cost of power generation, and tariffs for consumers.

"Pacific island countries are increasingly investing in renewable energy to improve their energy security, increase sustainability, and reduce energy production costs," it said.

The paper said five out of the six sampled countries experienced financial loss across 2021, with the cost of service exceeding the costs passed on to consumers.

Energy Fiji Limited, who had the highest renewable energy share, were the only Pacific utility whose tariff covered the cost of service.

"Bringing down electricity costs and improving supply reliability involves factors beyond just investment in renewable infrastructure," the report's co-author and a renewable energy specialist, Denzel Hankinson, said.

(RNZ Pacific)

PRIZES FOR CATCHING INVASIVE FISH

Hawaiʻi anglers have a chance to win prizes worth up to $250 for catching invasive fish.

Organizers of the 2024 Hawaii Invasive Species Roundup will award prizes worth $5,000 in total for various sizes of roi (peacock grouper), ta’ape (bluestripe snapper), toʻau (blacktail snapper), and tilapia.

The contest starts Aug. 1 and will run through mid-September, just before the annual American Fisheries Society conference being held in Honolulu this year. The society is one of the oldest fisheries science organizations in the world.

Anglers and spearfishers will compete virtually using a phone app to photograph their catch. A Canada-based company called Angler's Atlas is hosting the contest on its phone app MyCatch.

"What I wanted to do is demonstrate the value that anglers can play in fisheries science," said Sean Simmons, the president and founder of the company. "It's often thought of as, oh, you can't trust anglers, they don't know what they're doing. Well, actually, turns out you can trust the data, and they often do know what they're doing, and so let's find a way to illustrate and demonstrate this."

Simmons reached out to the local chapter of the American Fisheries Society and learned about community events to round up invasive fish.

He said over 200 people have signed up for the free contest so far. There are separate prizes for the adult and keiki categories.

(Hawaii Public Radio)

FALLING COCONUT KILLS BABY

A one-year old-boy has been crushed and killed by a falling coconut tree in central Fiji.

The Fiji Times reported the child and his mother were outside their Davuilevu Housing home on Sunday when an old tree collapsed.

He was rushed to the Nakasi Health Centre, but pronounced dead on arrival.

(RNZ Pacific)

SAMOA GUN AMNESTY

Samoa Police are starting a gun amnesty to allow people to hand in their illegal weapons without fear of prosecution.

The Samoa Observer reported this will run from 1 August to 30 September.

Deputy Police Commissioner Papali'i Monalisa Tiai-Keti said if discovered during routine police operations, illegal weapons will be subject to legal consequences.

The last amnesty in 2021 saw the removal of 198 illegal firearms from circulation.

(RNZ Pacific)

TONGA EARTHQUAKE

The US Geological Survey has reported a magnitude 6 earthquake off the coast of Tonga early on Tuesday morning.

The Survey said the quake was 73 kilometres south-south-east of Pangai, and 10 kilometres deep.

It struck just after 2am, Tonga time.

The US Geological Survey rated it as 'green', which means a low likelihood of casulaties and damage.

(RNZ Pacific)

FFA SECRETARIAT

Noan Pakop from Papua New Guinea has been appointed as director-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Secretariat.

Pakop will succeed the current director-general Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen, who has led the FFA Secretariat since 2018.

Tupou-Roosen said Pakop brings more than 30 years of experience in fisheries management.

He currently serves as the special advisor for the National Fisheries Authority of Papua New Guinea, and is expected to assume office as the FFA director-general in November.

(RNZ Pacific)