The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Environmentalists were bluntly told by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) that utility-scale solar solutions for New Providence are “impractical” because up to 1,800 acres would be required to generate sufficient energy.

Burlington Strachan, BPL’s director of grid solutions and support services, told Eric Carey, the Bahamas National Trust’s (BNT) executive director, that solar was not a substitute or alternative for the 85 Mega Watt (MW) Station D power plant that both were discussing on a conference call.

“Essentially, as a base-load plant, energy needs to be produced 24/7 and at adequate levels,” Mr Strachan said of the demands on solar. “In order to achieve the same level of energy output, BPL would need to build a plant that is about 360 MW of traffic in order to produce the same amount of energy.

“For a solar operation of this scale, 1,400 to 1,800 acres of land would be required for the solar field and a significant amount of battery storage to hold three-quarters of the 360 MW for when direct sunlight is not available. These factors make solar energy impractical for a new plant on New Providence.”

Mr Strachan reiterated the same rationale in a subsequent conference call, adding: “The new engines [at Station D] are part of BPL’s overall efficiency improvement strategy, so these engines are significantly more efficient and - are more environmentally friendly - than the older generation which fits into BPL’s improved energy mix approach.

“With respect to renewables, BPL’s primary focus right now is on the Family Islands where BPL is able to create higher penetration projects on those islands to keep them in the green and pristine condition that they’re in, and develop that as an attractive element to the tourism product.

“Station D on New Providence is specifically a baseload plant, and so when BPL considered looking at renewables, the challenge is the amount of renewables that BPL would need to put in place. A plant capable of producing the same amount of energy as Station D would require between 1,400 and 1,800 acres of land for construction. For that reason, BPL tabled solar and pursued the other elements of its improvement strategy.”

As for the renewable energy progress made to-date, Mr Strachan added: “BPL has been involved with the Ministry of the Environment in the past, and with some of their current projects, promoting the use of solar water heaters. BPL has frequently suggested individuals and agencies consider it as it is a good opportunity given our environment.

“As I stated earlier, the idea of a blended conventional and renewable power station, considering the energy density from renewables for this level of capacity and use profile on New Providence, is not really practical. Even if the solar installation only provides 10 MW, a significant acreage of land would be required. BPL is looking to encourage use of solar from the customer side, through its SSRG programme.

“The Small-Scale Renewable Generation (SSRG) programme allows individuals and business owners to generate energy using solar and tie that generation into the grid, so that they can self-consume and sell the remainder to BPL,” he continued. 

“There are currently about 100 individuals and companies enrolled in the programme. BPL is also looking at renewable integration in the Family Islands, for example Ragged Island, where BPL is doing deep penetration for renewables.”