Lucelec invites bids for solar project

THE ST Lucia Electricity Services Limited – Lucelec – announced plans Monday to develop a three-megawatt solar project that it said would provide more than five per cent of the power generation needs of the island.

“Lucelec is pleased to have finally gotten this project off the ground and our expectation is to commission at least one megawatt of solar PV by the end of this year,” said Managing Director Trevor Louisy.

“Together with the work that we have started on the proposed wind farm in Dennery, we are making steady progress on adding renewable energy to our electricity generation mix,” he said.

The energy company, St Lucia’s sole provider of electricity, has invited Request for Proposals (RFP) for the solar park, which will be developed north of the Hewanorra International Airport.

The company said that the RFP was developed with the assistance of the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and Rocky Mountain Institute-Carbon War Room (RMI-CWR).

“The solar installation with Lucelec will bring renewable energy investment from around the globe to St Lucia and set an example of how to scale renewable energy solutions in the Caribbean,” said RMI-CWR director Justin Locke.

Lucelec is funding the project and will manage the park once developed to ensure continued grid stability, it said.