The plan will determine how best to integrate the optimum mix of renewable energies into the national energy grid, at the least cost.
Saint Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) will soon begin the process of constructing a 3.2 megawatt solar power plant.
On Thursday, Jan. 14, LUCELEC signed an agreement for the development of an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the Government of Saint Lucia that will make provision for a team of independent consultants from Carbon War Room (CWR), the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and DNV GL, to assist both parties in designing a viable energy transition strategy for Saint Lucia.
The consulting team will develop a plan for moving Saint Lucia's energy sector from where it is now to where it needs to be, to give effect to the goals and objectives of the National Energy Policy.
The plan will determine how best to integrate the optimum mix of renewable energies into the national energy grid, at the least cost, without compromising the stability and reliability of the electricity system. It will determine what improvements need to be made to the electricity infrastructure (transmission and distribution systems) on the island, and how best to ensure that LUCELEC remains viable, given that the electricity system underpins Saint Lucia’s economy. The process will also allow for public input into the strategy.
In addition, LUCELEC Managing Director Trevor Louisy announced the company’s intent to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the first major renewable energy project on the ground, the construction of a 3.2 megawatt solar farm to be located at La Tourney, Vieux Fort. The project will form part of a power complex the company is proposing to develop.
The RFP will be circulated internationally and it is the company’s hope that within the next several weeks a successful bidder will be identified and a contractor in place by May of this year.
Louisy said the intention is to have at least one megawatt of solar power commissioned by the end of this year, and add the remaining two megawatts subsequently.
The RFP was developed with the assistance of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Carbon War Room and DNV GL, through the Government of Saint Lucia.
The signing ceremony and the announcement on the solar power plant took place in the Conference Room of the Ministry of the Public Service.
