BICO, Aqua Sol in solar deal

IN ITS QUEST to lower operational costs, BICO Ltd has entered a new deal with local renewable energy company Aqua Sol Components Ltd for solar power in its storage facility.This is the word from BICO’s commercial director Colin Corbin, who told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY in a recent interview, “The contractor on the small facility is Aqua Sol. We are making use of all of their strength, of our local Barbadian technical resources. We have not set about awarding a contract for the main factory.”He said Aqua Sol was contracted to install 150 photovoltaic panels on the storage building, which remained standing after a fire destroyed BICO’s manufacturing plant at Harbour Industrial Park, The City, in August 2009.“And when the new factory is built, there will be a much larger system to power the whole [operation]. We are looking at being able to divest ourselves of the reliance on fossil fuel based on the volatility of fuel prices. We are looking at natural gas solutions to help power generators, absorption to aid our chillers [and] at solar photovoltaic systems. I don’t think there is a single solution that will work for everything that we want to do,” Corbin said.Further, BICO brought its first solar-powered kiosk to the market two weeks ago for the sale of ice cream around Barbados, which was achieved through a transaction with alternative energy company Innogen.Innogen’s chief innovation officer Mark Hill explained to BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY in a separate interview that the $9 000 solar system was powered by three photovoltaic panels and delivered 615 Watts of electricity.Corbin, who said BICO introduced the collapsible kiosks to fill an entrepreneurship gap for persons who wanted to sell ice cream in remote areas, stressed that BICO’s reliance on renewable energy would lower the company’s operating cost and help to maintain retail prices.  (SR)