Albert Vaea, Minister of Internal Affairs for His Majesty’s Government of the Kingdom of Tonga and Vaʻinga Tōnē, Chair of SIDS DOCK Executive Council met recently in New York with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to the United Nations who are members of the SIDS DOCK – the SIDS Sustainable Energy and Climate Resilience organization as well as Walter Roban, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs for Bermuda.
The leaders convened to discuss the promise of Seabased wave energy technology as a solution for small island states’ energy insecurity, debilitating fuel costs, and renewable transition challenges.
Vaʻinga Tōnē added his signature to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed in February between His Majesty’s Government of the Kingdom of Tonga, SIDS DOCK and Seabased, to develop a 10 MW Wave Power Park in Tongatapu, Tonga.
“Tonga, like all SIDS, is faced with some of the highest energy costs in the world. It is our women, children and other vulnerable groups in our populations that are being affected by the impacts – including high fuel, food, water, medicinal, transportation and other costs, which none of our governments have control over.
“However, with the introduction of the deployment of renewable energy technologies, in this case the Seabased Group technology that powers the Wave Power Parks, we have a chance to bring some meaningful and visible measure of relief to our people,” Vaea told those gathered.