Three off-grid island resorts in Fiji’s remote Yasawa archipelago have drastically reduced their reliance on imported diesel following the deployment of an off-grid commercial solar and battery system comprising 760 kW of PV generation backed by 1.6 MW of battery energy storage.
New Zealand solar company Future Energy installed more than 1,700 solar panels across the Paradise Cove, Blue Lagoon and Octopus resorts and deployed eight Aelio battery units developed by SolaX Power Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of global energy storage leader SolaX. Each Aelio unit is a 50 kW / 60 kW hybrid ESS cabinet, IP66-rated inverter and IP55 cabinet, built for coastal heat, humidity and salt air.
The solar and battery system, which is designed to allow for future expansion, also includes SolaX battery management software that delivers real-time data on generation, consumption and battery state across all three resorts. Auckland-based Future Energy monitors performance remotely and intervenes if alerts flag a system issue.
The first island was commissioned in September 2025 and the third earlier this month.
Across the first six months of operation, the $1.61 million (NZD 1.96 million) project delivered a 35% energy cost saving while the build was still being completed. With the full system now commissioned, a 50% reduction in diesel costs is projected for full-year 2026.
Stage 2 of the Yasawa project, planned for delivery by end of 2027, will add additional solar and battery storage capacity to lift the energy cost saving to 70-75%. Beyond that, Yasawa Island Resorts owner Nick Wood’s longer-term ambition is for the resorts to reach approximately 95% combined diesel and gas reduction by the end of 2028.
Wood said the economics of the project are compelling with an estimated 36-month payback on the solar and battery system from operational savings alone, with cost savings flowing from day one.
“You can get your money back in probably two to three years,” he said. “If you look at the fuel we were using at Paradise Cove alone, and the 80% surge in diesel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, the increase in our operating costs would have been massive. Solar takes that pressure off.”
The project was a challenging one with every panel, battery unit, and cable needing to be shipped by container from New Zealand to the islands but Future Energy Director Alastair Mortensen said the end result is commercial proof that fully off-grid and remote solar and battery storage can deliver reliable energy in the most demanding conditions, with compelling payback opportunities.
“If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere,” he said. “Remote lodges, rural hospitals, data centres: the barriers to solar are lower than most businesses think, And right now, reducing reliance on diesel has real benefits, not just for the environment, but for their bottom line.”
SolaX Power Australia General Manager Joey Zhang said beyond the economic benefits, the transition to renewables is also improving resort operations with the solar and battery system delivering more useable energy and greater visibility about energy consumption.
“Our partnership with Future Energy shows what’s possible in remote, off-grid conditions,” he said. “This solution is available to any operator across the Pacific – and Australia – still relying on expensive imported diesel.”
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