The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamian electricity grid’s stability is key to incorporating renewable power sources into this nation’s energy mix, the Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s (BEC) general manager has told Tribune Business.

Kevin Basden said the monopoly electricity provider had submitted a policy document to the Government addressing these issues.

Speaking with Tribune Business at the recent CIBC FirstCaribbean International Conference, ‘Public Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Development & Financing’, Mr Basden said: “The Corporation has, in fact, put in a policy document for that [renewable energy grid tie-ins], which we have sent in to Government.

“What you would probably see in the first instance is the connection of the photovoltaic (PV) systems which were part of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) project, and that will probably be followed by the opening of the grid to some other customers.

“There would be some caps in terms of the size of the grid systems individual residential customers would put in, and the total amount of energy to be fed into the grid, and that’s because of a measured approach that we are taking.”

Mr Basden added: “With regards to renewable energy, there are two types. One is what you call dispatchable, and the other is non-dispatchable.

“When we talk about non-dispatchable renewable energy, we’re talking about energy that is not always there. For instance, energy from the sun or the wind. If you were generating energy using solar, and there was a big cloud cover, then there is a dip, so therefore if you have a considerable amount of solar coming into your grid you need to ensure that you have some other source of making up for that difference. That’s one aspect in terms of making up because the resource is not always there.”

Renward Wells, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Works and Urban Development, and co-chairman of the Governmemt’s Energy Task Force, told this newspaper recently that the Government is pushing to have at least 40 per cent of the Bahamas’ energy needs come from renewable sources by 2030.

The Christie administration is presently assessing numerous renewable energy proposals.