Solar-powered batteries are the key to a future without electricity grids for Polynesian countries in the Pacific (Samoa, Cook Islands and Tonga), a study has found.

The study is funded by the New Zealand Institute for Pacific Research (NZIPR) to assess the feasibility of a low-cost, energy future – titled ‘Polynesian pathways to a future without electricity grids’

The first phase of the research conducted by Peter Wilson (Principal Economist and Head of Auckland Business for the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research) and his team of Professor Basil Sharp (Auckland University Professor and chair in Energy Economics) and Gareth William (Head of Solar City Energy Services) queries whether distributed solar electricity is a practical alternative to grid-based electricity.