Investing In Solar and Wind Power

The provision of a solar panel system to the Health Authority, by the Anguilla Electricity Company (ANGLEC), to reduce the cost of electricity at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, is a thoughtful and significant donation. Any public sector, private sector or statutory-run organisation, paying out over one million dollars per annum in electricity bills, like the Health Authority, runs a serious financial risk.

Though functioning as a statutory body, it is heavily subsidised by the Government to the extent that if salaries cannot be paid to civil servants, no payments can be made to the staff of the Health Authority either. And if there are cuts in pay for Government workers, the decreases apply to Health Authority employees as well.

Although the newly-installed solar system at the hospital may only cover 4% of the high electricity cost there, when tallied up the savings can be a considerable amount over an extended period. The more money paid out in electricity bills, the more revenue ANGLEC will obtain. So when the power company undertakes to lose some of its income by presenting cost-cutting solar equipment to one of its biggest consumers, there is reason for commendation. And yet ANGLEC cannot stop there. The company must unselfishly explore greater opportunities, as it seems to be doing, torevolutionise the provision of electricity services on the island by promoting the use of renewable sources of energy.

It appears that the populace of Anguilla can take comfort from the fact that ANGLEC’s General Manager has described the solar panel system presented to the Health Authority as a pilot project. This clearly indicates that more projects are in the offing to help combat the exorbitant oil prices and the difficultiesbeing experienced by customers. Already many people on the island, not just those at the top income level, but others at the lower and middle income levels, are talking about exploring the possibilities of alternative sources of energy. Any nudge they can be given by the Government, working in conjunction with ANGLEC, and the National Energy Policy Committee, pursuing the same objective of renewable sources of energy, can lead to a realisation of the desire of some consumers. But the real action must come from these three entities which have the power, influence and ability to get it done.

Anguilla is more than blessed with two of the factors which can drive the move towards alternative or renewable sources of energy. These are sunlight and wind, the easiest to harness, unlike rain, tides and geothermal heat. Cheaper electricity for the people of Anguilla had been one of the rallying campaign promises of the Anguilla United Movement, now in Government. The Minister of Infrastructure, who was one of the main proponents of that promise, must now rise to the challenge to see what can be done to hasten relief from the high electricity bills occasioned by the soaring global oil prices and the Environmental Levy imposed by the Government.

It appears that the best way to work towards alternative sources of electricity in Anguilla is to pursue and in invest in such natural resources as the sun and wind which, according to ANGLEC’s General Manager, “are showering down on us daily”. There is already a National Energy Policy document in place in Anguilla which carefully sets out the alternative ways forward. This may be a blueprint for a successful initiative in Anguilla to get rid of our overall dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation and the associated high costs involved. Admittedly, this will be a long and tricky transformation with probably little accomplished over many succeeding years, but at least a small start towards that end will be important.