Electricity · Renewable energy
Today about one unit in ten comes from our wind turbines and solar panels. The plan is to make it more than eight in ten, starting with a new solar farm and battery at Rifle Range.
Figures for October to December 2025 (Q3 2025/26), the latest published. Every unit of renewable electricity is diesel we do not have to ship to the island and burn.
89.3% of electricity in 2024/25
Power Station, Rupert's Valley
Four diesel generators: three Caterpillar 3516B units of 1.6 MW and one 0.8 MW Caterpillar 3508B, coordinated by SCADA. They keep the island supplied when the wind drops and after dark.
9.58 million kWh generated in 2024/25
2.7% of electricity in 2024/25
Deadwood Plain
Twelve WES80 two-blade turbines. St Helena's first three turbines arrived in the 1990s; the fleet doubled to twelve in April 2014. Turbine size is limited by what can be shipped, lifted and driven up the island's roads.
292,000 kWh generated in 2024/25
8.0% of electricity in 2024/25
Rifle Range, Half Tree Hollow, and four rooftops
A 500 kWp solar farm at the former rifle range, commissioned in April 2015, plus four small rooftop systems, including our Jamestown offices. Solar produces most when daytime demand is highest.
858,000 kWh generated in 2024/25
In 2024/25 the Power Station used 2.38 million litres of diesel, costing £3.2 million.
Wind and solar rose quickly after the wind fleet doubled in 2014 and the Rifle Range solar farm opened in 2015, peaking at 28.8% of the island's electricity in 2015/16.
Solar has held steady since, at between 7.5% and 9.2% a year. Wind has not: output has fallen from 2.45 million kWh in 2015/16 to 0.29 million kWh in 2024/25, and diesel now makes up the difference.
The turbines at Deadwood Plain were made by Wind Energy Solutions (WES), which has since gone into liquidation. With no manufacturer behind them, spare parts and specialist support are hard to find. The oldest turbines date from the 1990s, and all of them have spent years in strong, salty winds. As parts wear out, more turbines stand idle for longer while we wait for repairs.
That is why the next step is new, larger renewable plant with storage, rather than more of the same.
| Year | Diesel (kWh) | Wind (kWh) | Solar (kWh) | Renewable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 9,580,110 | 291,834 | 857,655 | 10.7% |
| 2023/24 | 9,247,736 | 552,323 | 870,561 | 13.3% |
| 2022/23 | 8,511,850 | 978,526 | 966,857 | 18.6% |
| 2021/22 | 8,548,822 | 1,258,144 | 971,049 | 20.7% |
| 2020/21 | 8,198,057 | 1,726,788 | 988,343 | 24.9% |
| 2019/20 | 8,965,414 | 1,841,978 | 996,974 | 24.1% |
| 2018/19 | 8,943,645 | 2,069,749 | 997,219 | 25.5% |
| 2017/18 | 8,708,038 | 1,974,134 | 894,891 | 24.8% |
| 2016/17 | 8,490,816 | 2,144,789 | 861,761 | 26.1% |
| 2015/16 | 8,038,875 | 2,453,329 | 801,608 | 28.8% |
| 2014/15 | 8,619,989 | 2,336,690 | 106,341 | 22.1% |
| 2013/14 | 9,593,636 | 1,008,245 | 68,080 | 10.1% |
Connect's Energy Delivery Plan sets out a pathway to more than 80% of the island's electricity from renewable sources, in three phases.
Phase 1 · Rifle Range, Half Tree Hollow
A ground-mounted solar farm of at least 1.9 MWp and a battery of at least 2 MW / 8 MWh at Rifle Range, integrated with the Power Station, the 11 kV network and SCADA. It is the first of three phases.
The battery stores midday sunshine for the evening and steadies the network when clouds pass, so the Power Station can run less and burn less diesel.
1990s
Three 80 kW turbines introduce renewable energy to St Helena.
April 2014
Twelve turbines now turning at Deadwood Plain.
April 2015
500 kWp of solar commissioned in Half Tree Hollow.
2015/16
Wind and solar produce 28.8% of the island's electricity.
2023
The island's energy transition is set as a high strategic priority.
September 2024
The pathway to 80% renewables; modelling and design by SunBD and Thabo Consulting Engineering.
October 2026
Expressions of interest invited from contractors to build the Rifle Range solar farm and battery.
Nov 2026 to Jan 2027 Planned
A competitive tender is planned, subject to approvals.
Then Planned
Further renewable generation and storage towards more than 80%.
Dates marked Planned are provisional and subject to procurement approvals. Details of cost and timetable are kept out of published plans so as not to prejudice procurement.
Closed · Contractors
The expression of interest closed on 23 October 2026. A competitive tender is planned next; it will be announced in News & notices.
Plans and figures
Households and businesses
We are not accepting new grid-connected solar systems at present. At quiet times, such as sunny weekends when demand is low, the diesel generators already run close to their minimum safe load. More solar feeding the network at those times would push them below it, putting the generators and everyone's supply at risk.
The battery planned for Rifle Range is designed to store that surplus sunshine, so the generators can stay within their limits.