The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A renewable energy provider yesterday said it is eagerly awaiting implementation of regulations governing the sector, as it has 20-30 Mega Watts (MW) worth of contracts waiting to be built.

Jack Roosevelt, managing director of Blue Wave Capital and Clifton Energy Partners, said: “The Electricity Act 2015 really covers almost all of the issues that needed to be addressed. They make it possible for almost everything that we need to have.

“Really, what needs to happen now is the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) primarily has to sit down and write the regulations. That’s really what we are waiting for right now.”

He added: “We have probably anywhere from 20-30 MW worth of contracts waiting to be built from ‘behind the meter’ projects with corporate entities. We just are waiting for URCA to be able to put in place the regulations and process to file for approvals and move this forward.”

Mr Roosevelt also conceded: “Bahamas Power & Light still needs to play a part in that, obviously, because if you’re going to have a grid-tied system you need to have an interconnect permit, and you need to have BPL managing the grid.

“What we deal with here is really a collection of micro-grids. Every island is just another micro-grid, and the transmission/delivery side is really the most difficult part of what BPL does. They need to be able to manage the amount of renewable energy that is brought online on every island.”

Mr Roosevelt said Bahamian interest in renewable energy solutions was high, but investment cost remained a deterrent.

“Everyone I talk to wants to find a way to build solar, either at their home or business,” he said. “It’s always a question of money and finances. That’s one of the sides to our business, especially if you’re a private off taker, a corporate entity, a business owner; we will build it for you. We own it and sell the power back, so there’s no upfront cost for you.”

He added: “We came here originally to design and build solar facilities, primarily large 40-50 MW facilities on some land we control out west.

“We then started working with private off-takers; with the local business community in looking for small ‘behind the meter’ projects, anywhere from 100 KW (kilowatts) and up. That also blossomed into doing micro-grids, so we design, build and own micro grids for resorts. We are working on one in the Exumas.”