Bermuda solar power users sell back to country’s grid
(Royal Gazette): Customers of renewable energy company Solar Bermuda have become the first to start selling back power to the Island’s electrical grid under Belco’s Interconnection Policy. The Interconnection Policy, which was announced on 6 November allows homeowners with alternative energy systems up to 15 kilowatts (kW) to sell excess power back to the utility provider. Solar Bermuda has called the policy “a huge step forward” for the renewable energy business in Bermuda and is proud to be the first local renewable energy company to officially “net meter” their clients allowing them to sell back that excess energy.
Category: Science and Nature
Once again, Cayman has been left in the dust of progress, by a competetor of ours – Bermuda, bringing "net metering" to its people. Years ago, we virtually begged the Government to enable net metering in Cayman when Bermuda didn’t even have so much as an idea of renewable energy or a single solar installation for electricity.
The Cayman Islands had the opportunity to advertise itself as an intelligent, forward thinking and progressive country, moving off fossil fuels and replacing them with alternative, renewable energy for its residents. The Cayman Institute presented that government with an Energy Policy that, if implemented, could have meant significant Grants & funding to assist the home owners of our country rid themselves of the high cost of electricity. But noooooo. We’ve done nothing and yesterday, on news outlets around the world, Bermuda gets the credit for having made net metering available to its people.
We’ve had legislation ready to be passed for many years to enable us to drive electric cars (not golf carts) in Cayman but it hasn’t been passed either. It’s sitting there waiting for who knows what? The person responsible for bringing electric cars to Cayman should be considered a hero but instead has stated that he’s going to Bermuda as well. People of Cayman, we should be making this happen here and not listening about it happening in other countries – yet alone a major competitor of ours. When will our government wake up and get the legislation passed that we need to lower costs to the residents and businesses of Cayman?
Hey Jim;
What’ya mean "not golf carts". I brought my NEV on island almost a year ago based on the Governments indications that it was passing the necessary changes to allow electric vehicles in Cayman in early 2010.
But all kidding aside… you’re comments are spot on. We had an opportunity to be ‘the greenest island" and we could have been an eco-tourist attraction…
We live in a market where fuel prices are double, electricity prices are triple (and) where there is always the possibility the the electric grid could be down for weeks or even months due to storms.
World oil prices are being manipulated back into the $100+ range and there are many local businesses and residents who will not be able to afford those increases.
There is ‘every reason’ for our Government to approve these changes immediately and … no reason for them not to.
With alternative energy, everybody wins.