Young: Solar panels coming to ex-quarry sites

ENERGY Minister Stuart Young says government is exploring the installation of solar panels at locations where illegal quarrying used to happen.

He was speaking during a visit to the National Energy Skills Centre's (NESC) drilling academy in Ste Madeleine on August 6.

Young told NESC students and staff that a month and a half ago, Cabinet approved an initiative from his ministry to increase the number of locations in the country to access solar power.

"We are going out with an RFP (request for proposal) in a few weeks time."

Young said this RFP will invite interested parties to submit proposals to build solar panels on all illegally quarried lands in northeast Trinidad.

He added this was another step government was taking to tap into the potential offered by renewable energy.

"The government is looking at implementing wind turbines. We are already building the largest solar park in the whole Caricom region that will be completed next year. That is Project Lara., not too far from here, now in Brechin Castle. It will produce about 92 megawatts."

Young repeated that while the transition from non-renewable to renewable energy sources was important, it would not happen overnight and there would be some reliance on the former for some time to come.

"The good news is, the first one that should go is coal, then oil, and then gas, which will be decades from now."

Against this background, Young said, the oil and gas industry will be around for a long time.