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About Tonga's Wind Turbine Project at Nakolo |
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The objective of the wind turbine project is to help Tonga Power staff gain experience on how to operate and maintain a wind turbine in Tonga. Tonga Power is responsible for operating and maintaining the project.
This is the first wind turbine to be built in Tonga – the first of its capacity installed and the foundation, the first of its design ever built |
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The 11 kW turbine is capable of supplying electricity to some 23 homes and can save up to 6700 litres of diesel used to generate electricity annually. The turbine can reach a capacity of up to 11 kW when the wind speed reaches a 9.5 m/s or more.
Power generated by the wind turbine will be fed into Tonga Power’s network for general distribution in Nakolo. |
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Latest Developments |
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Community Involvement |
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Since October 2013, the wind turbine’s performance can be viewed on the web. It has proven very useful tool for fault monitoring. Apart from providing very useful generation figures, faults can be send via email to certain TPL personnels for follow up.
As one of the goals of the project, TPL staff are now well versed in it operation and maintenance. This ensures the wind turbine operates well.
Staff are more alert of the weather, and the Tonga meteorological offices’ forecast is monitored religiously. This ensures the unit is not exposed to damaging wind speeds |
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The project team visited the community of Nakolo to discuss the progress of the project and to get the community involved in the development of the wind turbine project.
The team also visited the local primary school in Nakolo to talk to students about wind energy and its benefits to the community.
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Key Dates |
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Facts and Figures |
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 April 2013: Construction begins |
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Each turbine, fully assembled, is 18.4 meters high |
| May 2013: Project fully completed |
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and weighs just over 4, 000 kg |
| June 2013: Project commissioning and official handover |
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Each turbine consists of three main parts – the |
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base tower,the nacelle and the blades |
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Each tower is 18.4 meters high and weighs approximately |
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3, 200 kg |
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The turbine blade is 13 meters long and weigh |
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approximately 200 kg |
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Each nacelle is approximately 2.5 meters in length and |
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weighs 900 kg. The nacelle is the part of the wind turbine |
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that sits on top of the tower and contains the generator and associated controls. |
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The turbine has a maximum generation capacity of 11 kW |
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Turbines will generate efficient electricity in wind speeds of 3.5 m/s |
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