Young, Lightsource BP consider Trinidad and Tobago solar parks

ENERGY Minister Stuart Young met Lightsource BP CEO Nick Boyle and other company officials on Tuesday to discuss solar park projects in Trinidad and possibly also in Tobago, said a statement on the Facebook page of the Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday. Young is in the UK with the Prime Minister for the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26.

The post reported: "The discussions surrounded the commitment to build two solar parks in Trinidad with a planned cumulative output of 112.2 MW (megawatts.)

"Minister Young also discussed the possibility of additional future solar projects in Trinidad, with the possibility of building a solar park in Tobago.

"The Energy Minister invited Lightsource BP to deepen its ties with TT and explore the possibility of further projects in the region as renewable energy becomes increasingly important in the push to reduce global carbon emissions."

The Lightsource BP website said the projects were due for Brechin Castle (92 MW) and Orange Grove (20 MW.)

The Brechin Castle solar park will be built on 587 acres of land and each year produce 225,303 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to supply 31,500 households. The solar park will save 123,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions per year, which is equivalent to taking 26,500 cars off the road. One MWh equals 1,000 kilowatts of electricity generated per hour.

The Orange Grove project will occupy 148 acres. It will supply 50,417 MWh each year to 7,000 households and save 27,500 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions annually, equivalent to taking 5,500 cars off the road.

An article on the TT Energy Chamber website said the project developers were a consortium of bpTT, Shell and Lightsource BP.

"In pursuit of achieving a target of ten per cent renewable energy in TT, two solar projects will be built in Trinidad during the period 2021-2022."

The Orange Grove project will be done in collaboration with UWI, the owner of the land, the energy chamber said.

"According to Lightsource, the projects will be built over a ten-month period and it is anticipated that construction may begin in 2021 and (they will) become operational by 2022."

The chamber said the projects would be preceded by a certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) process plus an environmental impact assessment (EIA.)

Further, the consortium was negotiating a power purchase agreement with TTEC, the article said.

"These projects will contribute towards international targets to reduce carbon emissions as outlined in the Paris Agreement to which TT is a signatory."