THE BARBADIAN HEAD of the Caribbean’s biggest oil distribution company is seeking an energy alternative to buffer his current operations.
Sir Kyffin Simpson, chairman of the Simpson Group and the SOL Group of Companies, revealed recently that he was exploring the possibility of using natural gas as the next supplement for fuel.
Speaking at the Barbados National Entrepreneurship Summit 2011, Sir Kyffin, who heads the major regional fossil fuel distributor, said that he would be looking to implement this new strategy not only in Barbados, but across the Caribbean, noting that it would greatly reduce electric and energy costs across the board.
“We think that this would bring down the costs of electricity and power tremendously. Right now we are investigating bringing it in bulk from one source and then putting it into small ships to bring it into Barbados and throughout the region.”
The businessman also mentioned that although for the last seven years there had been talk about running a pipeline from Trinidad to supply natural gas, so far no major headway had been made.
Stressing that alternative energy was the way to go for Barbados, Sir Kyffin said it was just a matter of time before the push in the United States and Canada made its way to the island’s shores.
However, he was of the view that despite the move towards alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power, gasoline engines were still very efficient and ways were still being found to improve them.
“The gasoline combustion engine is becoming so efficient and so improved that it will soon overtake diesel. A gasoline engine is rapidly becoming cheaper to operate than even a diesel truck so I do think that demand for fossil fuel will be around for a long time,” Sir Kyffin noted. (RB)
