In 2023, Nauru depended entirely on fossil fuels for its electricity: fossil generation accounted for 100%, while low-carbon sources supplied none in the provided data. This leaves substantial scope to introduce clean electricity, reducing the climate-changing emissions and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Nauru?

Nauru’s electricity consumption per person remained below its historical peak. In 2023, consumption was about 3,400 kWh per person, roughly 110 kWh, or 3%, below the 2018 record. These figures show a shortfall from the peak, rather than establishing whether consumption fell in the latest year. Low-carbon generation remained at zero kWh per person, unchanged from the reported 2000 record. This lack of clean electricity growth is concerning as electrification and future demand call for more electricity.

Suggestions

Solar power offers a promising starting point for Nauru, with rooftop installations and battery storage helping expand clean electricity supply. Relevant island examples include Samoa and Vanuatu, each generating about 13% of its electricity from solar, and the US state of Hawaii, at about 23%. Cyprus also generates almost a quarter from solar. Nauru could learn from these places when planning solar deployment and grid integration. Nuclear should also be considered through long-term feasibility studies and international cooperation: France generates about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, demonstrating its potential to provide dependable low-carbon electricity. Any nuclear proposal for Nauru would need to be tailored to its very small electricity system.

History

No year-by-year historical changes were supplied, so a decade-by-decade account of Nauru’s low-carbon electricity generation cannot be established. The available benchmarks report zero low-carbon generation per person in both 2000 and 2023, with no improvement over that record. They do not establish what happened in every intervening year, but they underline the importance of beginning sustained clean electricity growth.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade