The Minister with Responsibility for Energy in Barbados has hired local installer Solar Watts Systems Inc. to install PV systems at the government headquarters starting October 2017. Barbados plans to have 13 of its government buildings be retrofitted with solar PV systems. The entire exercise will lead to $16 million in savings on electricity charges.
Senator Darcy Boyce signed an agreement for the project that enjoys support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Union. IDB has provided a loan and the European Union has approved a grant for the country's Public Sector Smart Energy Program. The retrofitting project costs a total of $5.5 million and is part of the energy program, according to Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS).
Investment initiatives for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the public sector is the focus area for the Public Sector Smart Energy Program, which also includes the target to retrofit government buildings with PV.
Barbados National Oil Company is in talks with the Ministry of Education to install PV systems on the roofs of secondary schools to generate clean energy. Barbados Investment and Development Corporation is also discussing the same to install PV systems on the roofs of buildings in industrial estates.
The 13 government buildings that will undergo retrofitting include the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, the National Housing Corporation, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Frank Walcott Building, the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre and the Grantley Adams International Airport.
Retrofitting with solar panels will also be carried out for the Forensic Sciences Centre, the Treasury Building, the Barbados Community College, the Ministry of Transport and Works, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic and the Barbados Seaport (Shallow Draft and Engineering Facility).
"Our aim is to reduce the electricity bill in the public service by making as many of our buildings energy efficient as possible and by earning income from solar photovoltaics," said Boyce. The government is planning to have 40 community centres, polyclinics and other public buildings around the island to be fitted with PV systems.