The government of St. Kitts and Nevis is turning to solar power as part of its effort to meet the goal of 60% energy generation from renewable sources:
The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has taken a step forward towards realizing its policy of achieving 60% energy generation from green energy sources by 2015.
During a recent ceremony held at the Government Headquarters, 66 solar panels installed atop the building were activated for the first time, launching the Solar Panels Cooperation Project between St. Kitts-Nevis and the Republic of China on Taiwan. This means that Government Headquarters is now partially powered by solar energy.
According to Minister of Public Utilities and Works, the Hon. Earl Asim Martin, the newly activated panels will produce 100 kilowatts of energy daily from five hours of constant sunshine. This energy he said could be used to power some of the office equipment within the various departments housed at the Headquarters with the exception of air-conditioning units.
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Due to limited roof space at the Headquarters building for solar panels, the project is meant to be a demonstration. Solar panels will also be installed at the Taiwanese Demonstration Farm in Newton Ground; another area where benefits of solar energy can be demonstrated.
The development of the Solar Panels Cooperation Project came out of a visit to a solar power plant in Taiwan in March of this year by Prime Minster Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas and Minister Martin.
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Dr. Douglas informed that solar energy could also be utilized both commercially and residentially at a small cost.
“Although it is fully understood that using an energy system that fully utilizes energy produced by the sun would be very cheap on a monthly basis; it has always been a concern as to the initial capital cost home owners would be saddled with to install such a system,” he said.
“The average installation cost on a residential system is just approximately US$5 per watt of energy with an incredible life which extends beyond 25 years.”
According to the PM, at the current cost of electricity in St. Kitts a 1 kilowatt system for home owners would have a payback span of 2-3 years and would shave approximately US$1000 off the consumer’s electricity bills annually.
The Prime Minister stressed that “as a country we should do what we can to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels”. As such, he revealed that his government would soon bring before the Cabinet plans to give incentives for investments into solar panel systems to be used both commercially and residentially.
Read more in the full article from the St. Kitts-Nevis Observer.
Previously on Green Antilles: St. Kitts and Nevis aims for 60% increase in renewable energy and St. Kitts and Nevis alternative energy strategy.
The incredible lifespan of 25 years for the solar installation,
does that include the batteries?
Of course not, they need to be replaced very often, sometimes already after one year,and therefore this solar
illusion will be counterproductive,
and landfills will fill up with tons and tons of toxic batteries in the years to come.Beware!
The government installation uses no batteries. It is a grid tied installation.