Electric Vehicles in the Pacific Islands? An Investigation of the Possibilities of Electro-mobility in Samoa By Klaus Thoma 2014 A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington, as partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Masters of Development Studies School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences Victoria University of Wellington 1 Electric Vehicles in the Pacific Islands? An Investigation of the Possibilities of Electro-mobility in Samoa Abstract The identification of alternative transport modes is urgently required as fuel price inflation is adversely affecting Samoa’s energy security and increasingly its economic and social well-being. The Samoan government has recognised the society-wide implications of fuel dependency and is moving towards improving fuel use efficiency of the national transport fleet and the identification of viable alternative transport fuels. This research analysed findings from global transport stakeholder organisations and modelled the energy consumption of electric vehicles (BEVs) under Samoan conditions. The results pointed to lower operating cost of BEVs which led to stakeholder support for the eCar pilot project aimed at establishing the feasibility of electro-mobility. The study adopted a postdevelopment approach as it provided information about BEV technology and invited Samoan transport stakeholders to contribute to mutual learning about alternative transport modes via a series of participative workshops. Postdevelopment thinking also pointed to assumptions made under prevailing conceptions of the modernist development project which may see the promotion of electro-mobility in the form of a commercial technology which is unaffordable to the majority of Samoans. The study concludes that in order to make electro-mobility accessible to a wider section of society, the concept of electro-mobility needs to be deconstructed into its components and rebuild to suit Samoa’s conception of modernity. This could literally mean BEV retrofit conversions of second hand cars to take advantage of the well documented energy efficiency of the electric motor and discounting the status enhancing ownership of a commercial BEV. Key words: electric vehicles, electro-mobility, electric vehicle retrofits, postdevelopment, renewable energy, externality cost, participative action research, Pacific Islands, Samoa. 2 Acknowledgements First of all I would like to express my warmest gratitude to my family who not only encouraged me to fulfil one of my old dreams to go back to university and do something practical there but also their support came with the full knowledge that they had to take over many of my jobs on our farm. My studies as a mature student at the Postgraduate Programme in Development Studies were a rare mixture of stimulation and delight having such a cosmopolitan bunch of students to work and play with. But my special thanks go to my supervisor Professor John Overton who let me explore my unorthodox research ideas in Samoa hoping that I might return eventually and even with a project worthy of his attention. I have to mention the warm and charming people of Samoa who made my stay on Upolu such a delight. There were too many small and ordinary meetings and interactions to mention which made my stay such an unforgettable experience. The warm reception of the palangi has given me extra motivation to contribute something worthwhile to this lovely country. Without the support of my colleagues at the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment I would not have gained the insights I needed to get ahead in my research. Special thanks go out to Sala Sagato Tuiafiso who shared the dream of reducing fossil fuel dependency in Samoa. Much appreciation goes to my colleague Anne who realised soon enough that I needed a helping hand with finding reports and all that institutional knowledge which only she had on her fingertips. I have appreciated Lillian’s help in meeting many stakeholders but I will never forget her scheming in making me appear on my bicycle in front of Samoan TV, something I would have never even dreamt of doing. Thank you Lillian but count on a return prank. I also want to extent a special thank you to Tutoatasi Setu who took it on herself to drive me to many interview appointments. She obviously did not have much confidence in my bicycle skills and realised soon enough that I was in dire need of some cultural guidance which she passed on in her nonchalant way. 3 Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction ..................................................................................... 13 1.1 Genesis of the Research Project ................................................................... 13 1.2 Central Research Question ........................................................................... 15 1.3 Overview of Thesis Structure......................................................................... 17 Chapter Two: The Transport and Energy Sector in Samoa ................................ 20 2.1 Samoa’s Cultural and Political Institutions ..................................................... 20 2.1.1. Fa’a Samoa: Samoa’s way of dealing with outsiders ........................... 20 2.1.2. Contemporary and Independent Samoa ............................................... 22 2.1.3 Samoa’s Tussle with Globalisation ....................................................... 23 2.1.4. Samoa’s MIRAB Economy .................................................................. 24 2.2 Socio-economic Aspects of Car ownership ................................................... 27 2.3 Some Macroeconomic Statistics Relating to the Energy Sector .................... 28 2.4 Samoa’s Transport and Energy Sector .......................................................... 30 2.4.1. Background .......................................................................................... 30 2.4.2. Relevant Policy governing the Transport and Energy Sector ............... 33 2.4.3. Energy Security .................................................................................... 35 2.4.4. Samoan Renewable Energy Targets .................................................... 37 2.4.5. The Current Situation in the Transport Sector ...................................... 40 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 43 Chapter Three:Developments in Electric Mobility and Relevance for Samoa .. 45 3.1 Overview ....................................................................................................... 45 3.2 Economic and Environmental Context of the Transport Sector ..................... 46 3.3 The Big Scenario Studies .............................................................................. 49 3.3.1 The King Review .................................................................................. 49 3.3.2 The International Energy Agency 2 Degree Celsius Scenario .............. 51 3.3.3 The Renewable Energy Network Survey .............................................. 53 4 3.4 Current Status of BEV and PHBEV Technology ............................................ 56 3.4.1 Battery Technology ............................................................................... 57 3.4.2 BEV Infrastructure Innovation ............................................................... 58 3.4.3 Some Footprint Comparisons of ICEVs, FCVs, BEVs and PHBEVs .... 60 3.5 The Role of Renewable Energy in the Pacific Island Countries ..................... 62 3.5.1 Political Arrangements in the Region .................................................... 62 3.5.2 Practical Experiences with Biodiesel .................................................... 63 3.6 Small Island Nations’ Experience with Electric Mobility ................................. 65 3.7 The Retrofit BEV Movement/Industry ............................................................ 66 3.8 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 69 Chapter Four: Postdevelopment ........................................................................... 71 4.1 Background on Postdevelopment Theory ...................................................... 72 4.2 Critiques of Postdevelopment ........................................................................ 75 4.3 Postdevelopment in the early 2000s .............................................................. 77 4.4 Postdevelopment in the Field ........................................................................ 79 4.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 83 Chapter 5: Research Methodology ....................................................................... 86 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 86 5.2 The Origins of the Participatory Development Paradigm ............................... 86 5.3 Participating in MNRE’s Search for Alternative Transport Modes .................. 89 5.4 Participatory Action Research at MNRI ......................................................... 92 5.5 Applying Postdevelopment Thinking to the Problem of Fuel Dependency ... 93 5.6 Ethics Issues ................................................................................................. 95 5.7 Positionality of the Researcher ...................................................................... 95 Chapter Six: Discovering