In 2023, electricity consumption in Solomon Islands was just 138 kWh per person, compared with a global average of 3,794 kWh—roughly 27 times higher. Low-carbon electricity accounted for about 13 kWh per person, or around 9% of the total, leaving roughly 91% supplied by fossil fuels. This very low level of electricity consumption can limit healthcare, education, refrigeration, business activity and access to digital services. Expanding clean electricity would support development while reducing the air pollution and climate impacts associated with fossil-fuel generation.

Is Electricity Growing in Solomon Islands?

The latest figures do not show sustained growth in electricity consumption per person. At 138 kWh in 2023, consumption was 22 kWh, or about 14%, below the previous record of 160 kWh reached in 2007. Low-carbon electricity generation also stalled: its 2023 level of 13 kWh per person matched the record set in 2022 rather than exceeding it. This stagnation is concerning given the need for more electricity to improve living standards and support electrification. These per-person figures alone, however, do not establish whether total national electricity consumption increased or decreased.

Suggestions

Solomon Islands should prioritize solar expansion through rooftop installations, community projects and solar-powered mini-grids, supported by batteries and stronger distribution networks. Nearby Australia, which generated 58 TWh from solar, offers useful experience, while Vietnam’s 21 TWh demonstrates substantial solar deployment in another tropical setting. Wind could complement solar where local measurements identify suitable sites; Australia’s 42 TWh of wind generation provides another regional learning opportunity. Nuclear should also be considered in long-term clean-electricity planning, drawing on experience from places such as France, with 376 TWh of nuclear generation, and the United Arab Emirates, with 32 TWh. For Solomon Islands, that consideration should involve assessing technologies appropriately sized for future demand, alongside workforce development and international cooperation, rather than copying the scale of much larger electricity systems.

History

The supplied historical data cover only solar electricity in 2022 and 2023, with both years recording a change of zero TWh from the previous year at the reported precision. These entries therefore show no measurable annual increase in solar generation, rather than showing that solar generation itself was zero. Together with low-carbon generation per person remaining unchanged between those years, this short record points to a recent plateau. A sustained expansion of solar and other clean electricity would help move Solomon Islands beyond that stagnation.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade