Comments on: High Cost of Diesel Spurs Caribbean Island’s Renewable Energy-Climate Change Plan

By: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Partners With NRG Solar In Global Alliance | CleanTechnica

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:31:22 +0000

[…] anywhere, but especially at island locations, the partners pointed out. Islands such as St. John rely heavily on burning imported diesel fuel in order to secure reliable sources of electricity. Installing a solar PV system not only lessens […]

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:02:00 +0000

That’s on top of commercial buildings. I don’t have prices for large array ground mounts.

By: Masonc

Masonc — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:55:00 +0000

Two more issues with you comments
1) SOlar Energy is 15c IN THE US. In a small island with very high land prices, it is not so cheap.
2) They are not buying power at 43c, they are selling it at 43c. What you have to consider is the avoided cost of using solar, which is claimed to be about 25c. You could ask how they get from 25c generating cost to 43c selling price without being put in jail, that’s one I would like an answer to, but do use 25c as avoided cost in evaluating utility solar. The difference is not that much and the pass through difference to the consumer is very little.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:30:00 +0000

If you want to attest to Carty being a “RE evangelist” then I’ll change my statement to:

“Perhaps the immediate thing Anguilla needs to do is to educate this guy so he does not repeat this idiotic claim.”

Now, of course you use solar first to supply power directly to the grid. And with a diesel-fed grid you’re in a great place to get going. You’re dealing with a semi-dispatchable source as opposed to something like nuclear which you can’t turn on and off quickly.

By: Masonc

Masonc — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Bob, David is not an idiot, he is a RE evangelist but not a technician. He has been told that storing RE power is not feasible.
Before we worry about storing energy overnight, we could consider using solar during the day, when it is there to use. The utility does not want to consider that, claiming it is too unreliable. A small amount of storage would help with that issue, if anyone would think a little outside their container.
If you look at our power graphs, it is pretty steady. A utility could integrate that without issue, certainly up to 20% peak load.
the issue is not a technical one, is is more about people holding on to power and not being willing to work for the common good. That’s all it is.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:38:00 +0000

“As we all know, you can’t store electricity, it has to be used when it is generated” – Carty.

Perhaps the immediate thing Anguilla needs to do is to fire this idiot.

All of these sunny islands need to be looking at the cost of power and put preconceived notions behind them.

Commercial scale solar is now $0.15/kWh (SolarBuzz). If they are paying $0.43/kWh for power I suspect they can store electricity for a lot less than $0.28/kWh. At least overnight.

They must have wind potential which would mean some $0.05/kWh power coming around the clock.

They know what it costs to run a grid with diesel and they should have a pretty good idea what is going to happen to the price of diesel going forward.

Right now they could power their grid with a combination of wind and solar, using lead-acid or lithium battery storage. Whether that would be cheaper than burning diesel is a simple calculation.

Since the diesel generation is already in place, determine the cost of a “24 hour” and “48 hour” renewable system – enough battery storage to get them through the night or through one day of no sun/wind. Bring the diesel generators back on line after 24/48 hours of inadequate renewable input.

If renewables can produce power for less, then start installing. If OTEC proves out to provide cheaper power then switch over.

Perhaps a consortium of wind/solar/battery companies needs to engage with a small island and build them a completely renewable grid. That could be what the other islands need to see.

By: Masonc

Masonc — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:59:00 +0000

The technology behind OTEC looks very promising and I really hope it gains acceptance. But to propose that Anguilla venture that direction is to ignore that Anguilla won’t even use a technology like solar even though it is in use everywhere in the world and Anguilla has the best sunshine you could want. Meanwhile Anguilla and many of the other islands are happy to go broke buying diesel.
What hope would you have that an emergent technology like OTEC would find interest here?

By: Mike Straub

Mike Straub — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:20:00 +0000

The real no brainer is Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). The process of using the temperature difference in shallow and deep ocean water to create emission free power. And the only byproduct is millions of gallons of fresh drinking water! Forbes reported this week on OTEC growth throughout the Caribbean (http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidferris/2012/03/31/market-for-deep-ocean-energy-starts-to-heat-up/)

Anguilla needs to talk to their neighbors. OTEC is here to solve their energy concerns, pour clean water for the masses, and improve the lives of millions of people for generations to come.

Lots more info on how OTEC works, and how it is drastically cutting the Caribbean’s addiction to fossil fuels at The On Project.

http://www.theonproject.org/?utm_source=cleantechnica&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=mscomment

By: Cometenergysystems

Cometenergysystems — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:03:00 +0000

There is a number of things wrong with this article.
1) The price of electricity is wrong, Anguilla’s electricity is 0.433 USD.
2) The only real Renewable Energy in Anguilla is the system on Hughes Clinic, and the utility tried hard to stop it. It was only the determination of the owner that made it happen.
http://goo.gl/S9AyL
3) David’s “60 cents on the dollar” is EC$

If Anguilla is at the forefront of the development of RE as you claim, everyone else is running backwards. Jamaica, St. Lucia, Greneda, and other islands have implemented net-metering in some form, Anguilla has not. This means that you can have solar, but you cannot interconnect it with the grid. All the developed countries of the world incentivize solar, Anguilla outlaws it. Castilia has stated they are not in favour of net-metered residential solar, so I don’t see any progress.

Chris Mason
Comet Energy Systems, Anguilla
http://www.cometenergysystems.com,

By: anderlan

anderlan — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:42:00 +0000

No brainer! Even with shipping, at 0.63/kwh, the ROI on PV should be fantastic! It also seems like they might up the capacity of their osmosis plant and run it less often on diesel, more on PV or wind. It’s an ideal renewables situation, when water production relies on energy production, because water is kept in a reservoir until used.