Barbuda going Solar

The island of Barbuda is getting greener.

The government of Antigua and Barbuda has announced plans to install a new solar energy plant on Barbuda.

The project, a partnership between the government, the Antigua Public Utilities Authority and PV Energy, will see the installation of a 150 kWp clean power project toward a final goal of 1 MWp of energy.

The solar project will generate about 229.9 MWh of green power each year and help avoid the emission of 160,860 kilograms of carbon dioxide every year.

The installation, which includes 600 photovoltaic modules, will cover an area of 2,000 square meters west of the airport.

“Once again, the implementation of this significant renewable energy project emphasizes Antigua and Barbuda’s pioneering role in terms of becoming one of the greenest electricity sector in the whole of the Caribbean”, said Andre Matthias, Electricity Business Unit Manager of APUA. “The ground-mounted 150 kWp sun2live solar power generation solution on Barbuda will further minimize the government’s reliance on expensive and polluting fossil fuels. Additionally, PV Energy, the Ministry of Energy and the APUA will be working together to ensure that the necessary controls are installed with the 150 kWp PV system, thus ensuring that the solar system integrates into the power grid without compromising the stability and security of the network. As the solar penetration increases to the anticipated 1 MWp, batteries would be phased in to assist with maintaining a very stable power system in Barbuda”

It’s the latest green project for Antigua and Barbuda, which is among the region’s green energy pioneers with a number of renewable projects, highlighted by a large solar energy plant at the VC Bird International Airport.

Exerpts from Caribbean Journal