Tiny Tuvalu to be wholly powered by sun and wind by 2020

In a move designed to strengthen its bargaining position at the upcoming international climate change talks in Copenhagen, the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has set a target of having all its energy needs provided by renewable sources by 2020.

Tuvalu, located midway between Australia and Hawaii, yesterday said it will cost about $20m (£12m) to build enough solar and wind power infrastructure to meet the electricity needs of its 12,000 residents.

The move would largely end its dependence on diesel imported from New Zealand, which it currently consumes at a rate of 5,000 litres per day. Generators would continue to provide backup power for its renewable energy infrastructure.

Tuvalu comprises four reef islands and five coral atolls with a total land area of 26 sq km, the highest point measuring just 4.5 metres above sea level. As global temperatures rise, the nation is in danger of becoming one of the first countries to be completely inundated by rising sea levels, and in recent years it has become a powerful symbol of the urgent need to tackle climate change.

Kausea Natano, minister for public utilities and industries, expressed hope that Tuvalu's zero-carbon target will set an example for industrialised nations and "strengthen our voice" in international negotiations – chiefly the climate change conference in December.

"For Tuvalu, after 3,000 years of history, the success of UN climate talks in Copenhagen this December may well be a matter of national survival," he said.

Tuvalu last year installed its first large-scale solar energy system through an initiative led by Japan's Kansai Electric Power and Tokyo Electric Power. Both are members of e8, a non-profit organisation of 10 utilities from Group of Eight countries.

The grid-connected 40kW solar array cost $410,000 and is installed on the roof of the main football stadium in the capital, Funafuti, generating five per cent of the town's energy needs. Plans are in place to expand its capacity to 60kW.

Tuvalu is now counting on help from the US and Italian governments to build solar power systems on its outer islands.

Later this year, a 46kW solar power system costing $800,000 will be installed at a school in Vaitupu, the nation's largest island. The project is being funded by the Italian government.