AFTER PIONEERING the solar energy business in the Caribbean more than a quarter-century ago with significant success in the area of solar water heating, it can’t be hard for the fair-minded among us to conclude that by this time our progress in the area of renewable energy should have been far greater.
In many respects, while we have boasted to the world about our solar water heating industry, we have not taken the kind of initiatives over the last decade in particular to blaze a path fully into the world of photovoltaic technology.
It is true that even in the face of major economic challenges the Freundel Stuart Administration has spoken to the creation of a solar sector with far more energy than its predecessor, but for all its talk, the legislative framework and suite of incentives that should guide such a national excursion was slow to reality and implementation.
In fact, even after considerable interest by new entrants to the industry, particularly in the provision of photovoltaic systems for homes, as well as groundbreaking steps at the commercial level by established entities such as Williams Industries, it was clear that the regulatory framework in place for a while did not match the enthusiasm of critical private sector players.
This week, however, the announcement by the island’s primary supplier of electricity, Barbados Light & Power Company (BL&P) that it was ready to start work on its $40 million, 42-acre solar energy plant at Trents, St Lucy should serve as a major boost for the renewable energy sector in Barbados.
While this plant is slated to generate the equivalent of a mere 2.2 per cent of the island’s daily consumption, it is a start of what should be a major change in the way we meet our power needs as a country. Certainly, the nature of the renewable energy sector means that the virtual monopoly of entities such as BL&P is now much easier to break – to the benefit of the consumer.
This does not mean that we should now pour scorn on entities such as BL&P, which have contributed in no small measure to our development, but in going forward our policymakers must ensure that the environment is created that would discourage anything that would appear to hinder fair competition.
While the various alternative energy technologies may be expensive, our abundance of sunshine and wind year round, if sensibly exploited, would mean that our future development does not have to be at the mercy of oil-producing nations. We have the capacity now to level our own playing field.
Because it controls the national power grid, it is not unreasonable to expect that certain “respects” will have to be paid to BL&P, at least in the interim, to ensure that the stable supply of power we have enjoyed for nearly a century is maintained.
However, our Government must equally facilitate new players, particularly when they include locals who are prepared to invest in their country. BL&P, like all players in a genuinely competitive environment, must demonstrate that it can function and survive while others provide the same service.
We therefore look forward to similar announcements from other players that they have received approval from Government for projects that exploit wind, sun, wave or whatever other natural resource they are prepared to harness, since every time we don’t have to expend money on the importation of fossil fuels the country benefits.
It’s time to take back the solar initiative that enterprising Barbadians such as James Husbands of Solar Dynamics Limited made us famous for long ago.
