Barbados Light and Power using way more solar

(Barbados Nation) Barbados’ ten-year goal of becoming 100 per cent green energy-dependent is looking increasingly doable, as Barbados Light & Power (BL&P) is reporting a 10-megawatt increase in just one year from renewable energy suppliers feeding into the grid.

This revelation was made by managing director Roger Blackman, who explained that the increase now meant that on a sunny day, 30 per cent of the country’s peak electricity usage comes from solar power, ten per cent more than last year.

Blackman, speaking during a link-up with the company’s executive and reporters on Tuesday, said he expected this percentage to increase significantly in the coming years due to several BL&P green energy projects coming on stream, some as early as year-end.

“I remember saying that we were getting 28 megawatts from customers, but we are close to 40 now from customers. What that means is that on a sunny day, those systems, in addition with the solar farm at St Lucy, which would come to their peak around midday, would be producing 50 megawatts of power. Typically, our peak demand would be around 170 megawatts,” he said.