In 2023, fossil fuels supplied about 86% of Tonga’s electricity consumption, while low-carbon electricity accounted for around 14%, entirely from solar. In other words, roughly six out of every seven units of electricity came from fossil fuels, and one came from clean solar power. Expanding low-carbon generation would help reduce the climate impacts and air pollution associated with fossil fuel use.

Is Electricity Growing in Tonga?

Electricity consumption per person fell in 2023 rather than growing. It reached about 669 kWh per person, around 92 kWh below the 2022 record of 762 kWh—a decline of roughly 12%. Low-carbon generation per person was essentially flat at about 96 kWh, compared with around 95 kWh in 2022; the reported change rounds to zero in the underlying comparison. This stagnation in clean electricity, alongside falling overall consumption per person, highlights the need for more generation to support electrification and future demand.

Suggestions

Tonga should prioritize expanding its existing solar generation, which already supplies a meaningful share of its electricity. Rooftop installations, larger solar projects, battery storage and grid improvements could help it build on that foundation. Useful examples include North Macedonia, where solar supplies about 40% of electricity, and the US state of Hawaii’s fellow Pacific region, the US state of California, where solar supplies almost a third. For an island comparison, Cape Verde generates about 14% of its electricity from wind, offering lessons for assessing wind alongside solar in Tonga. Nuclear should also feature in Tonga’s long-term clean-electricity planning: France generates about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, demonstrating its potential to supply substantial low-carbon power. Tonga could explore international cooperation and assess whether future small-scale nuclear options would suit its electricity system.

History

From 2017 through 2023, the supplied historical series records zero annual change in solar electricity generation in every year, measured in TWh at the precision shown. These rounded figures do not establish that solar generation was absent or that no smaller changes occurred; indeed, solar supplied around 14% of electricity in 2023. Nevertheless, the series shows no visible growth at that reporting precision over those seven years, reinforcing the importance of accelerating solar deployment and expanding clean electricity supply.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade