Mr. Thornley Myers, CEO of the St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) and a Curacao solar energy firm, EcoEnergy, N.V. in December 2017 signed a contract to start the engineering, procurement, and construction for the utility’s first solar battery storage micro grid, located on the island of Mayreau in the Grenadines.
When connected to the Mayreau power system in mid-2018, the project will reduce the use of diesel for the generation of electricity while providing increased energy security and inherent resiliency to climate impacts.
According to the Energy Unit, the project will produce enough renewable energy to silence the diesel generators for up a period of 6 to 10 hours per day. This will lead to a significant reduction in both greenhouse gas emissions and noise on the small island community.
The project is historic for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
It is VINLEC’s first solar and battery storage project and could provide a replicable model for the region, where in the Eastern Caribbean, diesel-powered generators currently account for over 90% of all electricity generation.
In addition, this project will use advanced engineering, manufacturing and construction techniques to secure the installation against the strongest Category 5 Hurricanes, which is of even greater significance in light of hurricanes Maria and Irma that devastated the Caribbean in September of last year.
“We are extremely grateful for the role of RMI in bringing the project to this stage and look forward to the day when we could see the practical ramifications of the plans that have been developed over recent months,” said Thornley Myers, CEO of VINLEC.
Ellsworth Dacon, Director of the Energy Unit said “The solar and storage project on Mayreau aligns well with the government’s aggressive renewable energy targets.”
