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Sometimes the most interesting and exciting projects are constructed far from the mainstream. Such a place is Tonga, a beautiful Island archipelago some three hours flight from Auckland, New Zealand.

Due to its distance and limited resources, Tonga is challenged by the cost of power given its high dependency on the volatile imported fuel market. Though the kingdom is highly fertile, the difficulty of transporting fresh produce and the cost of power required for agro-industry processing has resulted in largely underdeveloped agricultural resources. This has a negative impact on food security and increases the cost of living.

The Agricultural Sector Growth Committee (ASGC) of Tonga has been working on developing a “circular economy,” i.e., a sustainable closed loop zero waste system that provides food (protein), (livestock) feed, (organic) fertiliser and (renewable) energy on a nationally transformative scale.

Stanley Kaye, business development manager at Agrotop, together with Karen Guerrero, regional director of FWE Energy Solutions, were invited to visit Tonga by ASGC. They were asked to work together with the Tonga Circular Economy System Feasibility Team of the ASGC to develop a conceptual plan.

During the visit last May, we were most impressed by the warm hospitality and the professional and methodical way in which the plans are being developed.

The feasibility team and the ASGC conducted prior research into the arable side of growing crops, which is very feasible. The two bases that need covering were the biogas side to be developed by FWE and the livestock (poultry) side, which Agrotop was assigned to lead.

The main challenge is to integrate these separate parts into one system which will provide good quality poultry meat and cheap clean energy, and will serve as the basis for developing additional agro-industry initiatives.

The project is in the first stage of conceptual planning, and during this year it is expected to move to the detailed planning stage and then to implementation.

At the same time, Agrotop and FWE are developing a small Island model, which can be applicable for other islands and regions.

The bioenergy potential within Tonga is remarkable and ready to be developed. The biogas technology provides a circular economy concept revalorizing the organic waste into renewable energies.

The island scenario and requirements are similar: there is a need for energy (thermal or electrical), fuels for transportation (land and maritime), as well as food provision (vegetable and animal protein-based).

By combining Agrotop’s advanced solutions for poultry turnkey projects and FEW’s biogas energy generation solutions, a highly sustainable and efficient process can be offered to address the demand for fuels and food, thus maintaining a negative environmental impact within the island.