New Caledonia's Congress has unanimously decided to set up an energy agency to help oversee plans for a large scale conversion to renewable energy.
Vale's nickel plant in New Caledonia Photo: AFP
The territory aims to produce its electricity without fossil fuels by 2030 with the exception of the nickel smelters which remain key consumers running their own power plants.
The new agency will take over from the current energy control committee and also assume its budget.
A member from the Loyalty Islands says the number of households still to be hooked up to the power grid has remained unchanged for a decade but the government says many of them now have electricity from autonomous set-ups.
