The Turks and Caicos Islands have excellent solar resources and the willingness and ability to generate electricity at lower cost than conventional power plants.
Nearly all the economies in the Caribbeanare dependent on diesel fuel or natural gas for some 90% of their power generation, but renewables so far play only a minor role in Caribbean territories, despite their having ideal conditions for developing green energy. Solar and wind energy are abundant and there are untapped opportunities for geothermal energy and hydropower generation that could transform the Caribbean renewable energy supply and completely free much of the region from dependence on fossil fuels.
One country that is actively pursuing a renewables policy is the Turks and Caicos Islands, through its electricity supplier Fortis TCI and subsidiary Turks and Caicos Utility. Together, the two companies have more than 15,000 customers and adiesel-fired generating capacity of just over 90MW.
The Fortis plan is to integrate 33% renewable energy into the Turks and Caicos power mix by 2040, diversifying the country’s energy generation to include sustainable energy sources such as geothermal, wind, solar and hydro.
In 2019, the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Fortis signed a deal with the Clinton Foundation to begin implementing initiatives developed previously with the Rocky Mountain Institute to provide a roadmap for the country’s energy future to 2040. The partnerships goals included building a regulatory framework as well as support for renewable Turks and Caicos Islands energy projects, integration of electric vehicles and promotion of energy efficiency.
The Clinton Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Institute work with governments and utilities to help develop and integrate renewable energy through financing and project support.
Fortis’s renewable energy initiative began in 2016, integrating solar energy generation into its gridthrough renewable energy solutions that focus on rooftop solar installations. The scattered islands’ underdeveloped electrical grid has a serious impact on power generation and many isolated regions have a weak or non-existent grid infrastructure, making alternative power generation solutions even more relevant.
The technology can be installed in small units like on roof-tops, be combined with conventional diesel generators to create a hybrid, or supported by battery storage for a 24/7 power supply, reducing power generation costs and dependency on fuel imports.
To date, Fortis has installed over 1MW of grid-tied rooftop distributed solar photovoltaics and is working to complete an additional 1MW of projects across the islands.
In another initiative, Fortis and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences have teamed up to boost renewable energy integration in the country. The luxurydevelopment has signed on as Fortis’s 10th customer in its Utility Owned Renewable Energy Program. The resort is currently under construction on Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, and is expected to open in 2021.
A 210kW rooftop solar PV system is being installed on the resort’s casino and restaurant rooftop and will be grid-tied, generating around 310MWh a year. Customers in the program receive a monthly fixed credit for rooftop space and an annual variable incentive based on system production.
