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© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 171 news items in Energy & Transport
    Reimagining the Electricity Sector in Island Nations with Virtual Power Plants
    Energy & TransportApril 7, 2025

    Reimagining the Electricity Sector in Island Nations with Virtual Power Plants

    Excerpt and Photo from rmi.org Distributed virtual power plants (VPPs) can revolutionize the Caribbean’s energy landscape. These networks of decentralized and distributed energy sources (DERs) are aggregated and actively controlled by a VPP aggregator, enabling hundreds or thousands of devices to operate as a unified system offering an innovative solution to the region’s energy challenges. Many island nations remain heavily dependent on expensive, imported and polluting fossil fuels for electricity generation, leaving them vulnerable to volatile global fuel prices and frequent power outages due to aging grid infrastructure. Climate change further exacerbates these challenges, with hurricanes posing a constant threat to power systems and economic stability. However, VPPs offer a promising solution by aggregating distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar panels and battery energy storage systems, as well as flexible loads like electric vehicle chargers and smart thermostats, to provide energy, capacity, or ancillary services to the grid through the VPP aggregator. By increasing the contributions of decentralized and distributed energy resources, VPPs can enhance energy resilience, reduce electricity system costs, and provide greater flexibility for electricity generation and ancillary services requirements on the grid. This report presents an in-depth analysis of these benefits, using a case study from the US Virgin Islands (USVI) to demonstrate how VPPs can stabilize the grid to enhance energy resilience and bolster disaster preparedness, while also improving overall system affordability and flexibility.

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    Sidlak: Sustaining solar in Cebu’s isolated islands – A Documentary
    Energy & TransportApril 7, 2025

    Sidlak: Sustaining solar in Cebu’s isolated islands – A Documentary

    Excerpt and Photo from rappler.com In the islands of Olango, Cebu, [renewable energy](https://www.rappler.com/topic/renewable-energy/) and wildlife conservation work hand in hand. The Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary (OIWS), the country’s first Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, is a vital stopover for 60 species of migratory shorebirds that travel within the East Asian-Australian Flyway. The sanctuary is fully energized with the help of solar power energy. According to OIWS warden Cristino Patigdas, the use of solar power panels has helped in reducing the costs of their operations and removing the need for loud gas-powered generators and transmission lines that get in the way of birds flying in the sanctuary. Many advocacy groups, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies have also ventured into supporting the isolated barangays of Olango’s smaller islands by providing them with solar panel units. However, with the lack of solar panel maintenance stations and a proper e-waste disposal policy, Olango residents may find themselves with an impending public health problem and bigger waste concerns. Watch this documentary by John Sitchon on Olango Islands’ struggle with [clean energy transition](https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/explainers/things-to-know-just-energy-transition/) and the challenges of sustainable technology in isolated island communities.

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    Namayingo islands women crossing treacherous lake for childbirth
    Energy & TransportMarch 31, 2025

    Namayingo islands women crossing treacherous lake for childbirth

    Photo courtesy of Betty Angatai. Retrieved from newvision.co.ug When Esther Atieno started feeling sharp pain, she did not know that she was in labour, considering that she still had three weeks to the expected date of delivery. Atieno assumed it was just normal discomfort or the baby shifting position in the womb. However, the pain intensified, leaving her paralysed. At about 10:00pm, a boat was got to rush Atieno, a resident of Lake Victoria’s Wayasi island in Namayingo district, to the health facility on Mageta Island across the border in Kenya. The baby could not wait: Atieno gave birth in the middle of Lake Victoria without assistance from a midwife and proper materials for childbirth. “I had nothing to use during delivery. We had to cut the baby’s umbilical cord with a piece of iron sheet that was patched onto the boat,” Atieno says. The dire situation was compounded by the heavy downpour immediately after giving birth. “We put the baby in a tin we normally use to scoop water from the wooden boat, hoping to keep the newborn warm,” she recalls.

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    Bicycle revolution underway on Torres Strait’s Thursday Island
    Energy & TransportMarch 31, 2025

    Bicycle revolution underway on Torres Strait’s Thursday Island

    Photo Supplied: Sarah Tedder. Retrieved from abc.net.au On the face of it, bicycles should be a great way to get around on Thursday Island, or “TI”, in the Torres Strait. The 3.5-square-kilometre tropical island has a designated cycleway and most things are a five to 10-minute ride away. There is no public transport and [fuel prices — $2.55 a litre for unleaded — are among the highest in the country](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-22/cost-of-living-crisis-in-torres-strait-cape-york-gulf/103108608). But after moving her young family to TI from New South Wales in 2023, Sarah Tedder was struck by the lack of people pedalling around. “As I was riding around with my kids, I just wasn’t seeing many other bikes at all,” she said. It turned out bicycles just weren’t a thing on TI. There was no bike shop on the island and shipping them from Cairns, the nearest mainland city more than 1,000 kilometres away, was expensive. After surveying community members nearly a year ago, Ms Tedder found while some kids had a bike, it was a different story for adults, with many relying on taxis to get their children to school or run errands.

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    Olutanga Island banks on hydrogen power to end years of blackouts
    Energy & TransportMarch 31, 2025

    Olutanga Island banks on hydrogen power to end years of blackouts

    Photo courtesy of Antonio Manaytay/Rappler Separated by a strait from the mainland of Zamboanga Sibugay, Olutanga Island is a place of breathtaking beauty, where turquoise waters meet lush green landscapes. But behind its idyllic scenery lies a community grappling with a persistent and crippling energy crisis. For years, residents have endured daily power interruptions lasting anywhere from two to eight hours, a problem that has stifled growth, disrupted lives, and left many feeling forgotten. “We have grown accustomed to living our lives in the comfort of the ordinary,” said Joseph Sumayo, brother of the village chief of Barangay Sagay in Talusan town. But now, a glimmer of hope has emerged in the form of a proposed hydrogen power plant, promising to bring stable and sustainable energy to the island. While the project offers a vision of a brighter future, not everyone is hopeful it will deliver on its promises.

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    Global Summit to Spotlight Nevis’ Renewable Energy Potential
    Energy & TransportMarch 27, 2025

    Global Summit to Spotlight Nevis’ Renewable Energy Potential

    Excerpt and Photo from thestkittsnevisobserver.com Nevis’ geothermal energy project will be a major focus of the Global Sustainable Islands Summit 2025, which St. Kitts and Nevis is set to host from May 25 to 30. The summit will bring together global experts, government officials, and sustainability leaders to discuss critical issues affecting island nations, with Nevis emerging as a model for clean energy development. On Friday, March 7, Premier of Nevis and Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, the Hon. Mark Brantley, along with Minister of Environment, the Hon. Spencer Brand, met with summit representatives to finalise key discussions. James Ellsmore, CEO of Island Innovation, the consulting firm working with the government to host the summit, confirmed that Nevis’ geothermal potential will be a highlight of the event. “The forums taking place in Nevis will be very specific to some of the challenges and opportunities that work for this island,” Ellsmore stated. “There will be a geothermal energy forum taking place here to explore the relevance, of course, for the local economy and the opportunity that geothermal will bring to Nevis and other islands from around the world that are exploring their own geothermal resources.”

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    New Study Demonstrates Feasibility and Benefits of Small Vessel Electrification in The Bahamas
    Energy & TransportMarch 24, 2025

    New Study Demonstrates Feasibility and Benefits of Small Vessel Electrification in The Bahamas

    [A new report](https://library.edf.org/AssetLink/4437yv717731hqtq1778t1cke0ec2anv.pdf), led by Environmental Defense Fund and University of The Bahamas, in collaboration with the Bahamas Sportfishing Conservation Association and Photon Marine, examines the feasibility of and possible pathways for the electrification of small vessels in The Bahamas. Through workshops, community meetings, surveys, and direct conversations with fishers, fishing guides, and other boat operators, the study evaluates the feasibility of vessel electrification, examining practical applications, community interests, key use cases, and barriers to adoption to inform partner-based approaches for implementation. The Bahamas presents a compelling case for small vessel electrification due to its ecologically sensitive and important marine environment, an economy reliant on fishing, and ambitious national commitments to reducing dependence on imported and expensive fossil fuels. “Small craft electrification represents a real opportunity for The Bahamas to achieve its goal of reducing the use of expensive and environmentally harmful fossil fuels while protecting the marine environments essential to daily life,” said **Danielle Carey**, Manager, Global Shipping, at Environmental Defense Fund. “However, solutions must not be imposed but instead developed through collaboration and partnership with vessel operators, fishers and guides to ensure real, everyday needs are met and benefits are seen by all.”

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    What lies beneath: Chuuk Lagoon needs more oil clearance
    Energy & TransportMarch 24, 2025

    What lies beneath: Chuuk Lagoon needs more oil clearance

    Photo courtesy of the Japan Mine Action Service. Retrieved from mbjguam.com Experts in Chuuk are warning that the state — and a vast swathe of the central Pacific — are at growing risk of an environmental catastrophe should the oil tanks rupture in one or more of the Japanese transport vessels that still litter the floor of the lagoon. Eighty years after the surrender of Imperial Japanese forces on what was Tokyo’s most important naval base in the region during World War II, there have already been a series of small-scale leaks of fuel oil from the ships, which are corroding at a more rapid pace as nature takes its toll on their steel hulls. Given the inevitability of the sunken ships breaking apart, experts are warning that steps need to be taken immediately to avoid the worst-case scenario of an estimated 30 million gallons of heavy fuel oil and diesel being spilled into the largely pristine waters of the lagoon.

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    Celebrating the riders who keep their small Peruvian island on the map and on the move
    Energy & TransportMarch 24, 2025

    Celebrating the riders who keep their small Peruvian island on the map and on the move

    Photo courtesy of Diego Bendezu, 2025. Retrieved from itsnicethat.com “The idea came to me while travelling to Amantani [an island on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca] for a job,” says photographer Diego Bendezu. “As I spent time there, I noticed the young bikers navigating the island’s paths.” These riders are working to making tourism and transport more accessible, he explains. “What struck me was how they were quietly pushing the islands into a new era… despite initial resistance from some locals.” This was the origin of the Peruvian artist’s new photography series, Island Bikers. “Their story felt important, yet unlikely to be told by anyone outside their community,” Diego continues, explaining that he wanted to reflect both the island’s progress and the bikers’ deep affection for it. This adoration and sense of dedication is apparent in Diego’s photographs. Contrast is rife – whether it’s between the accelerating sense of movement clashing with soft hues and warm lines, or the inorganic forms of the biker’s vehicle bouncing off Peru’s beautifully scattered, undulated lanscape. As a result, the characters, settings and scenes feel ultimately timeless. “The hope was for the images to feel lasting,” Diego says, “something that could be looked at years from now and still feel important,” whilst equally capturing the island’s magical, distinctive atmosphere. “Being in a place with almost no signal, completely disconnected, felt like stepping into a dreamlike escape from reality,” a sensation that heightened his awareness of both the islands’ beauty and the biker’s beneficial business. “I wanted to visually translate that feeling into the series,” he adds, “something ethereal yet grounded in the everyday lives of these young bikers.” In doing so, he captures the connection they have with their island, and creates a space for audiences to observe, be curious, and listen. “I hope the series reminds people of the importance of everyday stories,” he adds, “the kind that often go unnoticed but shape communities in meaningful ways”.

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