In bioenergy developments in the South Pacific cultural factors are known to influence the long-term sustainability of these projects. However, little is known about how cultural parameters influence the amount of biomass resource made available for power generation. The aim of this research is to determine the feasibility of sawmill residues for power generation as part of a village scale biomass gasification project proposed by the Government of Samoa. To do this, a biomass resource assessment of the tropical tree species tava (Pometia pinnata) used for timber production as part of the Patamea sawmill operation were classified using remotely sensed data captured by the WorldView-2 satellite over the village of Patamea on the northeastern side of Savaii Island, Samoa. These quantitative methods were combined with qualitative methods in a mixed-methodological approach in order to attend to the different epistemologies that this research argues shapes the success of bioenergy and renewable energy developments in the Pacific Islands region more broadly.

Seth Gorrie is a GIS Consultant with Esri Australia based in Melbourne. He is of Samoan descent and was drawn to study in Dunedin, New Zealand as an inaugural recipient of the University of Otago Pacific Island Entrance Scholarship. He holds a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in Geography and is a passionate advocate for renewable energy.