The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian renewable energy provider yesterday called for "real forward momentum" on achieving the National Energy Policy goals, saying: "We've been giving it lip service."

Guilden Gilbert, vice-president of Alternative Power Solutions (APS), told Tribune Business he questioned whether this nation's energy policy goals were still achievable.

"As a company, we would just like to see some real forward momentum on that goal. We are either serious or we're not. You're not going to reach a goal by just saying it; you reach that goal by working towards it," said Mr Gilbert. The National Energy Policy sets a goal of 30 per cent renewable energy use by 2030.

Mr Gilbert agreed that the lack of legislative support was limiting investments in the renewable energy sector. His comments come after the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), in its draft order and initial findings, said Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) had failed to meet its legal obligation to produce a Renewable Energy Plan (REP), featuring timetables and performance benchmarks, within six months of the Electricity Act taking effect.

While BPL did submit an REP on April 28, 2016, URCA said this failed to meet the Act's requirements. It is alleging that the state-owned monopoly has subsequently failed to remedy these deficiencies, which has also left it in breach of its licence obligations as well as the Act.

URCA also expressed concern that BPL's continued delay was jeopardising the National Energy Policy (NEP) goals. It added that BPL's failure to produce an acceptable REP was also delaying plans "by several commercial entities" to introduce renewable self-generation projects that will generate between 1 Mega Watt (MW) to 2.5 MW of energy, with any excess sold to the utility's grid.

"We have a client who wants to do a Mega Watt of solar and they can't do it," Mr Gilbert said. "We have successive governments talking about the energy mix, and putting more solar into the energy mix. What we are seeing is talk; we're not seeing anything happen in practice.

"When you have commercial clients ready to make the investment, and they are told they can't, you have to question whether it is just lip service. We're now in 2018 and the goal is 30 per cent by 2030. To be honest, I don't see us getting there. If we don't start now I don't see us getting there."

Mr Gilbert added: "The question is whether the will is there. We hear a lot about it but we don't see anything to support it. You have clients willing to make the investments but they can't because the legislative support to do it is not in place."