(Barbados Nation) The construction of an “energy island” off the coast of Barbados has been suggested by executive director of the newly formed Barbados Renewable Energy Association, Clyde Griffith, and the idea has met with a cautious response from a number of players in the energy sector.
Griffith, a former Minister of Energy, indicating that he had first mentioned the idea to late Prime Minister David Thompson in 2008, said the island would be home to wind turbines and a biofuel plant, among other forms of economically viable renewable energy systems.
“You see how they built up Pelican Island and it is now a part of Barbados? . . . . It is a concept we need to look at,” Griffith said, adding that while such a project would require a lot of careful thought and planning, he believed there were already qualified people in Barbados who could assist in making it possible.
He suggested that creating an energy island would benefit the entire country. Dependency on electricity from the grid would be reduced, he said, while Government would save on the over Bds$500 million currently spent annually on importing fossil fuel.
