By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
A well-known environmentalist has slammed as “quite absurd” how solar and renewable energy penetration in this nation has been stymied, stating: “Look where it’s gotten us”.
Sam Duncumbe, the reEarth President speaking on Bahamas Power & Light’s power generation crisis said: “Had we looked in a meaningful way at solar I don’t believe we would be in this mess right now. It’s mind-blowing that in a country which has over 315 days of sun a year that we have so very little solar penetration. We continue to stymie solar and renewable penetration in this country. That is a huge problem and it’s quite absurd.”
She continued: “Businesses are suffering because they can’t operate properly with the power supply being continuously disrupted. We should not be in this position right now yet here we are. Successive governments have failed us in terms of keeping us in this energy stranglehold where we are paying exorbitant amounts for electricity.”
Last year, Shell North America signed a MoU with Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) for the construction of an LNG plant at Clifton Pier. “We fought LNG tooth and nail for years and kept it out of this country and now the Shell baby has come in and it’s all good. That’s ridiculous. Instead of focusing on LNG where are we not seriously exploring our options with solar, wind turbines, tidal turbines.”
Back in early March, BPL executives announced the fast track” of the $95m installation of 132 megawatts (MW) in power generation. The state-owned utility at the time confirmed it had contracted Wärtsilä to supply and install seven new engines in an unused section of its Clifton Pier power plant in a bid to reduce energy costs, eliminate load shedding and blackouts, and boost supply security by ultimately ending reliance on rental generation.
BPL chief executive Whitney Heastie said earlier this month the company sits “on the edge every day” with insufficient power being supplied to meet peak demand. He noted the company has been crippled by a decaying generation fleet, parts that can no longer be procured and manufacturers that have not responded to BPL’s requests for help.
- See today’s Insight section, page 7
Comments
proudloudandfnm 5 years, 3 months ago
How does solar work at night?
observer2 5 years, 3 months ago
Simple. You build solar fields like our next door neighbor Florida Power and Light that have 18 fields, generating 1,200 megawatts of energy with 5 million solar panels.
https://www.fpl.com/energy-my-way/solar…
Ohh nooo! Its to simple to go next door...can't get greased with them. Lets go to a corrupt fossil fuel European giant whose global warming technology is from the last century.
BPL solar strategy. Solarize Ragged Island where no one lives and allow Bahamians to forget about solar once they are able to stop the power cuts. The problem is that the electrical plant and grid are at the point of collapse.
Please pray with me that Dorian don't come this way. Its lights off for our 100 year old electrical grid.
BahamaRed 5 years, 3 months ago
There are batteries that store energy for use when the sun is not out. - simple explanation.
proudloudandfnm 5 years, 3 months ago
Oh. So a room full of lithium batteries that have to be replaced every 2 years or so. The type that's almost impossible to extinguish should they catch fire...
Um, no thanks... I ga stick wit diesel....
DWW 5 years, 3 months ago
There are lots of types of batteries. One really simple method is to pump water uphill with solar then at night the water runs downhill to provide power. other options of chemical storage include lead acid or nickel cadmium, or new tech of nickel iron. or the elephant in the room. run solar all day to cool the house then switch to traditional fuels at night. it is not rocket science nationalisticquiet&politcal
ohdrap4 5 years, 3 months ago
Lithium batteries , which will pose a tremendous disposal problem soon enough. The cost of said batteries is 60% of the cost of the solar system.
People think the sun is going to shine down and turn on their refrigerators. Not even Archimedes could do it.
Go and get the price of solarizing a two bed home, it is like 20 ,000 even with duty free concessions. When the batteries fail, you pay some ridiculous duty on the replacement because the duty exemption is only on "kits".
I tried to tell them fellas, I just wanted a solar refrigerator and freezer. No dice, to setup those , it is cheaper to do the whole house.
It will be a long time before I listen to this solar crap again.
DWW 5 years, 3 months ago
It is possible and easy to isolate a few circuits and run them on solar. What is not easy dealing with bahamian BPL idiots that don't want you to isolate circuits. we have a strict electrical code that doesn't allow hybrid systems.
Bobsyeruncle 5 years, 3 months ago
Not necessarily. Most residential systems don't incorporate battery storage systems (I think the Tesla system is the exception), due to cost, safety and size. In most residential systems the solar power generated reverses the direction of your meter during the day so in effect you have a net negative consumption from the National Grid. Then at night, when you're no longer generating solar power, you take your power from the National Grid. Depending on the time of year and what you have consuming power on a typical day, your net power usage will be either negative or positive. We get a single power bill at the end of each year from our power company.
proudloudandfnm 5 years, 3 months ago
So BPL ga load shed at night... lol....
Bahama7 5 years, 3 months ago
Oil is definitely the way forward.
buddah17 5 years, 3 months ago
Fools folly for those thinking that diesel is the "way forward!" There should have been a move toward solar and wind sources for energy a LONG time ago. And I BET (dollars to cents) that the "new electricity power plant" that is due to come online "in the near future" will continue to fail (break down,) and/or NOT generate enough power for The Bahamian public by (say) early next summer.. (IF it's online by then!!)
joeblow 5 years, 3 months ago
People should realize that government cannot invest hundreds of millions of dollars in diesel generators and then allow less dependence on on that system, but we must find a way to transition without losing the investment in generators while benefiting consumers with lower electricity bills!
observer2 5 years, 3 months ago
if they had invested hundreds of millions in diesel generators the lights would not be going off now.
they have wasted hundreds of millions on pensions, purchasing of diesel via straw men, maintaining generators from the 1960s, paying BEC overtime so a linesman can make over $100,000 a year and lots of fraud, slow moving meters, un authorized connections and evaporating power due to a aged and poorly constructed grid.
DWW 5 years, 3 months ago
Observant - you my compatriot have hit the proverbial nail on the head. Joeslow needs to learn a few tings perhaps about electrical generation, basic physics and science and then take a course in political science, urban development and union relations/human resources. then take a look at the history of the finances of said government corporation and then understand why the Bahamian people get bungy
totherisingsun 5 years, 3 months ago
There are many innaccurate points being stated. Solar with battery storage on a MW scale is currently cheaper as a cost per watt than diesel generation. 10,000sf homes in Nassau are being run 24/7 on standard battery technology. Lithium iron phosphate is a completely safe solution to pure lithium and is commercially available. A transition to renewables is where you simply invert the power triangle over time...diesel becomes the backup to primary solar battery energy storage systems. BESS would immediately provide dispatchable power to the grid in lieu of load shedding.
totherisingsun 5 years, 3 months ago
Most residential systems are battery storage where the power triangle is inverted and the utiility is a backup on overcast days and only about 10kwh are purchased. The homes generator can be turned off and becomes the backup to the backup. This is both an economic advantage as well aas an environmental one. Solar businesses sell systems on economics first...once you do the math keeping with the traditional power regime is fools gold. Wait until the bec legacy debt is added to your bill and vat rises to the originally posted amount or higher. Being accurately informed is the foundation for debate and the way forward.
totherisingsun 5 years, 3 months ago
The electrical grid is at the point of collapse. Adding new shiny generators to our Transmission and Distribution network is like putting a new engine in a 1960 car...a la Cuba. If the engines are old...imagine the transformers and switchgear...all critical components for electricity to work. Would a surgeon install a new heart in a body with weak, clogged arteries? Thats what we are doing. Distributed generation is installing a solar sytem in the home, directly tied to the new or updated electrical system and it provides freedom and autonomy from unsustainable monopolies
The_Oracle 5 years, 3 months ago
Lithium batteries last for more than two years, Mine are guaranteed for 10, do not need to fill a room, and store excess for night time use or in the event of an outage. They also do not outgas Hydrogen and oxygen when charging at high levels like lead acid batteries do. Systems are getting smarter, and the industry is innovating ways around defunct utilities (BEC/BPL) or hostile to grid tied utilities.(Hawaii, Arizona, South Carolina etc) While some states are moving forward, others are moving back. Utilities want to maintain control, reap traditional profits. Legislators being the dumb asses they are are easy targets for unions and utilities. The current Bahamas "national policy" for what it is is already obsolete. Solar has existed in the Bahamas for at least 38 years that I know of personally, and back them it was 42% duty and damned expensive to start with. Misinformation is in abundance and clouds the facts, and much education is needed. But it does work.
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