The island nation of Samoa has taken a monumental leap towards energy independence and sustainability with the official launch of its comprehensive, nation-wide microgrid network. This ambitious project, years in the making, leverages a combination of solar, wind, and battery storage technologies. The island of Ta'u in American Samoa, located more than 4,000 miles from the West Coast of the United States, now hosts a solar power and battery storage-enabled microgrid that can supply nearly 100 percent of the island's power needs from renewable energy. This provides a cost-saving alternative. In recent weeks, the 17-square-mile island, with about 1,000 inhabitants, was equipped with a 1. 4-megawatt (MW) microgrid powered by more than 5,000 solar panels. The grid, with six megawatt hours' worth of battery storage, provides Ta'u with 99 percent of its energy needs, 24 hours a day.