Background
Tonga recently passed the Renewable Energy Bill of 2008, and is now the first Pacific island country (PIC) to have this sort of key instrument for promoting renewable energy (RE). The emergence of the law itself was the product of strong regional cooperation: it was drafted by PIEPSAP (A Danish Government funded Pacific Region's - "Pacific Islands Energy Policy and Strategic Action Plan") and reviewed by PIGGAREP (A GEF/UNDP funded through South Pacific Regional Environmental Program's "Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement through Renewable Energy Project"). However the Bill itself is not yet operational, as the institutional set up and the required regulations are not in place.