This week a radio commentator made the observation that if there is credit this government has earned it has to be implementing policy to encourage the installation of photovoltaic systems by the retail and commercial customer. BU agrees with a caveat.
Based on observation the biggest consumers of electricity in Barbados must be the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) and the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), Barbados Light & Power (BL&P) and other government departments. The acid test if the blogmaster is to give full credit to the government- the level of conversion from fossil to alternative energy by the greatest users must the key measure. The current conversion level suggest our biggest users are not fully converted, as a consequence there will be no material impact on fossil energy usage in Barbados any time in the near future.
If simple net metering was permitted, even for systems under five kilowatts, utility interactive RE systems with limited battery storage would be quite affordable. Back-feeding the grid during daytime and purchasing in the evenings would allow fewer batteries to be maintained for energy security while also reducing cycling and extending battery life.
We have three types of RE at our home. Grid tied, utility interactive (battery based) and off-grid. The off grid does not even have a battery as its a pond pump which operates only when the sun is shining on the PV. Critical appliances like our refrigerator, auxiliary water pump, lights, fans and entertainment centre were not affected by yesterdays power outage. And without the noise, fumes, maintenance and fuel requirements of a standby generator.
Check out Attic Developments Ltd Facebook page for schematic illustrations and pricing of various options.
Posted as a comment by Andrew Simpson to the No Power… No Vision
The preamble to the blog is a response to the BWA’s statement how the island wide power outage impacted their operations. To quote Joy-Ann Haigh, the Rapid Response and Communications Manager at the BWA:-
It impacted us a lot, because the pumping stations do rely heavily on the Barbados Light & Power. The tankers this morning, as a result, they have been dispatched. Of course, we needed to make sure that the emergency services were OK and then the schools, today being the first day of school for most and then everyone else afterward. Almost immediately after the power failed many, many areas lost mains water.
To BU’s way of 101 thinking, if one of the the biggest expense items on the P&L is the BL&P energy bill, a decision should have been taken ‘everysince’ to aggressively migrate to alternative energy systems to run the operations. For the BWA spokesperson to have to publicly admit that the power outage on Monday adversely impacted operations and forced them to freight water by truck Flintstones style was as embarrassing as shit running on the South Coast in the year of our Lord 2017.
Why build a 60 million dollar building and there are no backup generators? Bear in mind the question is being asked of our water utility. Many retail consumers see the need to integrate backup power systems in homes these days which makes it a nobrainer for our water authority.
On a related note, it is also unacceptable the downtime Barbados had to experience given our reported level of investment in power generation and distribution.
Food, WATER, Shelter!
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.