Abrahams highlights challenges; stresses importance of renewable energy switch
A SCARCITY of water, a vulnerability of pumps and electrical anomalies causing drop outs are just some of the challenges facing the Barbados Water Authority which has recently led to a number of outages at various pumping stations on the island.
Word of this from Minister of Energy and Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams who was speaking to the media over the weekend. He stated that a paper has already gone to Cabinet, but assured that a full explanation of the scope of the challenges will soon be given to the public.
However he highlighted the sensitivity of the equipment and the need for a consistent flow of electricity. “So if there is a surge or the electricity goes down then the pumps go offline... It is hard to detect when certain pumps go offline and quite often we only know when people call in. So we are upgrading our system to a better monitoring capacity.”
He stressed that it is also necessary to reduce the reliance on the grid.
“So you would have seen in Lakes Folly the large solar car park. There is a project in Bowmanston with renewable energy. We are looking to put renewable energy at all of our pumping stations. We are going to upgrade all of our pumps. So there is a plan and a programme in place to deal with that,” he assured.
Giving on update on the solar project at Lakes Folly, Minister Abrahams said it is currently at “99.9%” completion. “The infrastructure is there. We still have to do the paving. But we are looking to do a switchover very shortly.”
In fact he revealed that the date for the switchover is set for March 20 when the visiting officials from the United Arab Emirates, from whom funding for the project was received, will be on the island.
“It is our vision that the water supply in Barbados not be vulnerable or held hostage to forces outside of our control. We want to have the control of our own electricity supply. We want to be able to guarantee it. We want to make sure that what we put there works harmoniously with the equipment. We have to minimise breakdowns. So we are looking at the entire thing holistically.”
Back in November 2017, BWA officials noted that the 500 kilowatt ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) system being constructed at the Bowmanston Pumping Station in St. John, which serves 20,000 customers in rural Barbados, could cut the BWA’s energy bill significantly.
Additionally, the energy harvested at Lakes Folly will be used to reduce the operational cost at the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant by at least BDS$400,000 to $500,000 as well as generate revenue through paid parking.
As it relates to the disposal of Fats Oils and Greases directly into the sewer, the Minister reminded that they all have some value as it relates to energy production.
“They can be distilled and converted to biodiesel or otherwise used to generate electricity. So we are not looking at this in isolation. We are looking at this as how can we use what we throw it away.
He gave the assurance that his Ministry remains focused on its 2030 vision of reaching the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy. “So we are pulling the energy from where we find it,” he said. (JH)