While officials from around the region met to talk “renewable solutions” like alternative energy earlier this month at Mosquito Island, the non-profit organisation Green VI continued its push to green the territory by requesting permission from government to start work on five solar energy production pilot sites.
The sites would be the first to be tied into the existing public electricity grid.
“We’re asking to link up to BVIEC to feed the power from the sites back to BVIEC,” said Charlotte McDevitt, Green VI’s executive director.
The initiative would create the basis for a tariff system, Ms. McDevitt said, adding that in many countries, government allows energy producers to power their own buildings and sell excess power to the public utility.
Current VI energy regulations, which were created in the 1970s, require any solar or alternative energy production operation to receive special permission from the Ministry of Communications and Works.
Green VI submitted a letter to the government Feb. 4 requesting permission to move forward with solar energy production sites at the Youth Empowerment Project in East End, Green VI’s Glass Studio in Cane Garden Bay, Her Majesty’s Prison in Balsam Ghut, Ivan Dawson Primary School, and the BVI Electricity Corporation headquarters.
Because some of the sites fall under the Ministry of Education and Culture, and because the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour is already working on a renewable energy initiative, the group requested permission from all three ministries. As of this week, the MEC has agreed to the programme, but the other ministries haven’t responded.
After government approval, the next step would be to raise the approximately $500,000 needed for the project. The organisation hopes to access funding for the solar systems through a combination of international and local sponsorships, Ms. McDevitt said.
Although the cost of equipment for such systems has come down significantly in recent years, it’s still quite expensive, said Colm O’Reilly, an electrical engineer with Alternative Energy Systems.
Mr. O’Reilly said the company, which manages solar systems around the territory, plans to help sponsor the pilot programme, and would likely be contracted to do some of the work. He added that he hopes the project will show the potential of alternative energy in the territory.
“It will be a way for individuals to be able to create energy and actively reduce their energy use without having to change their lifestyle,” Mr. O’Reilly said.
In addition to creating energy, the aim of the pilots is to begin setting up systems that help train BVIEC technicians to work with solar energy systems, Ms. McDevitt said, adding that this will build on previous alternative energy training efforts, such as the current programme at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
In a press release announcing the programme, Ms. McDevitt praised government’s recent efforts toward greening the territory, such as adopting a Climate Change Policy Paper and replacing old-fashioned light bulbs in government buildings with energy-efficient alternatives.
The statement adds that the organisation is “eagerly” awaiting “the new, progressive energy legislation that is being developed.”
Communications and Works Minister Mark Vanterpool couldn’t be reached this week, but he told the Beacon in November that the Attorney General’s Office was reviewing the legislation, which would allow for “feed-in” systems. He said then that the bill should come to the House of Assembly early this year.
In a December statement to the HOA, Mr. Vanterpool said that his ministry is on an “energy modernisation mission.” He also said then that Cabinet had approved the MCW’s Energy Framework and Energy Policy, but neither document has yet been published.
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