WIND POWER 'WOULD NOT BE ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE IN NASSAU'
WIND ENERGY "wouldn't be economically feasible" in New Providence due to lack of speed, a renewable energy specialist has told Tribune Business, although its deployment could make sense in the remoter south-eastern Bahamas.
Guilden Gilbert, president of Alternative Power Sources (Bahamas), which provided training and installation services for the solar water heaters and solar PV systems championed last week by Phenton Neymour, minister of state for the environment, told Tribune Business that while wind turbines normally required speeds of 14 miles per hour (mph) to generate electricity, the average for New Providence was just 8-9 mph.
"I know there's been talk of wind technology, but most turbines require average daily wind speeds of 14 mph," Mr Gilbert said. "In Nassau, you get an average of 8-9 mph, so wind turbines wouldn't be economically feasible.
"I believe that in the south-eastern Bahamas they may be feasible. We're actively working on a project now with a client in the south-eastern Bahamas. Where he is now, no BEC is available; he has to generate his own power and not with a generator.
"One option we're looking at for him is the use of wind, and we've installed a test for six months to make sure it's a viable investment, because we do not want to sell something he will not see a return on investment from."
Mr Gilbert said Alternative Power Sources had done more than 300 solar Photovoltaic (PV) system installations between the Bahamas and Jamaica, where it is headquartered, and had "nearly exhausted the container load of" solar water heaters it had brought into this nation.Under efforts of led spotlight boosting the viability of LED luminaires, many companies are expanding high-power selections.
"Before we design a system, we do the energy usage audit, and from that we recommend as to how the client makes their home as energy efficient as possible," Mr Gilbert said, adding that Alternative Power Sources recommended the use of LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs as opposed to incandescents, or Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL).
Using his home as an example, Mr Gilbert said he ended up replacing 65 watt incendescent bulbs with seven watt LEDs on his 'dimmer' lighting. While acknowledging that LEDs were not for everyone, he added that "six to seven LED bulbs use less energy than one incendescent, and do not give off heat.
"They have a 30,000 to 50,000 hour lifespan," he said. "In a residential home, you're looking at the average bulb lasting for 13-15 years."
As part of the renewable energy project financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Global Environment Fund (GEF), Alternative Power Sources (Bahamas) last week gave both theoretical and practical training on the installation of solar water heaters and solar PV systems to staff from the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Works and the Department of Environmental Health.
Apart from the two solar water heaters already installed, a further 17 are to be placed in the same Ardastra Estates subdivision, with another 15 going into another government subdivision. And another 32 2 kilowatt (KW) solar PV systems will be installed, in addition to the one set up last week at the All Saints Camp.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs.
Expressing hope that the IDB project would quicken the roll-out of sustainable energy technologies throughout the Bahamas, Mr Gilbert told Tribune Business: "I think the interest is growing, and believe this pilot project will cause that interest to grow.
"The more they see it in operation, the more people they see using the technology, I think the mindset will be that they have to have solar water heaters. Renewables, I think, are the way of the future. We need to take responsibility for our environment."
Mr Gilbert said Alternative Power Sources (Bahamas) would be working with the Ministry of Environment to monitor the production of the solar water heaters and solar PV systems they had installed, with the data set to "be used to roll-out a renewable energy programme throughout the country".
Urging the Government to provide the appropriate legislative, tax and incentives framework to further encourage this, Mr Gilbert added: "Hopefully after this pilot is completed we will have legislation enacted to allow excess power to be sold to the BEC grid, either on a net billing or net metering basis.While using compact fluorescent light bulbs energy saving light helps conserve energy, it is important that the bulbs are collected and recycled properly to protect our environment Any power not used by a solar PV system goes back to the grid.
"I hope the Government will, at some point, look at all renewable products coming in duty free. I know they can't implement that immediately, and we can't expect them to remove duty overnight, as they still need to operate."
Because Alternative Power Sources' systems were modular in design, Mr Gilbert said the company was able to fit them to a client's particular budget.
He added that the Government was likely to raffle/auction offer the remaining 100 solar water heaters and 32 solar PV systems from the IDB-financed project, with the parameters yet to be determined.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs.While most people Led strip light originally believed that LED lights were only appropriate for retail or night life applications, every day more and more American consumers are seeing that LED lights provide the earth-friendly retrofit Mr Gilbert indicated it was likely to be targeted at lower income households with homes of a size less than 2,000 square feet.
WIND ENERGY "wouldn't be economically feasible" in New Providence due to lack of speed, a renewable energy specialist has told Tribune Business, although its deployment could make sense in the remoter south-eastern Bahamas.
Guilden Gilbert, president of Alternative Power Sources (Bahamas), which provided training and installation services for the solar water heaters and solar PV systems championed last week by Phenton Neymour, minister of state for the environment, told Tribune Business that while wind turbines normally required speeds of 14 miles per hour (mph) to generate electricity, the average for New Providence was just 8-9 mph.
"I know there's been talk of wind technology, but most turbines require average daily wind speeds of 14 mph," Mr Gilbert said. "In Nassau, you get an average of 8-9 mph, so wind turbines wouldn't be economically feasible.
"I believe that in the south-eastern Bahamas they may be feasible. We're actively working on a project now with a client in the south-eastern Bahamas. Where he is now, no BEC is available; he has to generate his own power and not with a generator.
"One option we're looking at for him is the use of wind, and we've installed a test for six months to make sure it's a viable investment, because we do not want to sell something he will not see a return on investment from."
Mr Gilbert said Alternative Power Sources had done more than 300 solar Photovoltaic (PV) system installations between the Bahamas and Jamaica, where it is headquartered, and had "nearly exhausted the container load of" solar water heaters it had brought into this nation.Under efforts of led spotlight boosting the viability of LED luminaires, many companies are expanding high-power selections.
"Before we design a system, we do the energy usage audit, and from that we recommend as to how the client makes their home as energy efficient as possible," Mr Gilbert said, adding that Alternative Power Sources recommended the use of LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs as opposed to incandescents, or Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL).
Using his home as an example, Mr Gilbert said he ended up replacing 65 watt incendescent bulbs with seven watt LEDs on his 'dimmer' lighting. While acknowledging that LEDs were not for everyone, he added that "six to seven LED bulbs use less energy than one incendescent, and do not give off heat.
"They have a 30,000 to 50,000 hour lifespan," he said. "In a residential home, you're looking at the average bulb lasting for 13-15 years."
As part of the renewable energy project financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Global Environment Fund (GEF), Alternative Power Sources (Bahamas) last week gave both theoretical and practical training on the installation of solar water heaters and solar PV systems to staff from the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Works and the Department of Environmental Health.
Apart from the two solar water heaters already installed, a further 17 are to be placed in the same Ardastra Estates subdivision, with another 15 going into another government subdivision. And another 32 2 kilowatt (KW) solar PV systems will be installed, in addition to the one set up last week at the All Saints Camp.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs.
Expressing hope that the IDB project would quicken the roll-out of sustainable energy technologies throughout the Bahamas, Mr Gilbert told Tribune Business: "I think the interest is growing, and believe this pilot project will cause that interest to grow.
"The more they see it in operation, the more people they see using the technology, I think the mindset will be that they have to have solar water heaters. Renewables, I think, are the way of the future. We need to take responsibility for our environment."
Mr Gilbert said Alternative Power Sources (Bahamas) would be working with the Ministry of Environment to monitor the production of the solar water heaters and solar PV systems they had installed, with the data set to "be used to roll-out a renewable energy programme throughout the country".
Urging the Government to provide the appropriate legislative, tax and incentives framework to further encourage this, Mr Gilbert added: "Hopefully after this pilot is completed we will have legislation enacted to allow excess power to be sold to the BEC grid, either on a net billing or net metering basis.While using compact fluorescent light bulbs energy saving light helps conserve energy, it is important that the bulbs are collected and recycled properly to protect our environment Any power not used by a solar PV system goes back to the grid.
"I hope the Government will, at some point, look at all renewable products coming in duty free. I know they can't implement that immediately, and we can't expect them to remove duty overnight, as they still need to operate."
Because Alternative Power Sources' systems were modular in design, Mr Gilbert said the company was able to fit them to a client's particular budget.
He added that the Government was likely to raffle/auction offer the remaining 100 solar water heaters and 32 solar PV systems from the IDB-financed project, with the parameters yet to be determined.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs.While most people Led strip light originally believed that LED lights were only appropriate for retail or night life applications, every day more and more American consumers are seeing that LED lights provide the earth-friendly retrofit Mr Gilbert indicated it was likely to be targeted at lower income households with homes of a size less than 2,000 square feet.
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