The Anguilla Electricity Company Ltd. ANGLEC is keeping its commitment to move away from diesel fuel for a more sustainable future. In June of this year, the company announced plans to aggressively pursue the reimplementation of a solar energy source with hopes of strengthening the economic standing of the company and country amid unprecedented fuel costs burdening both the company and its valued customers. To this end, ANGLEC is pleased to announce that the company is now advancing plans to develop and install a utility-scale solar Photovoltaic (PV) system and battery storage system. The exact details of the system are still under consideration, subject to technical and economic feasibility assessments. However, the goal is 6-10Megawatts (MW), a substantial increase from the 1 MW farm commissioned in 2016 and unfortunately destroyed by the unprecedented destruction of Hurricane Irma in 2017.
ANGLEC has engaged the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for potential financing support. In response, CDB has provided grant and technical assistance support to ANGLEC for project preparation. This commitment from CDB includes in-depth technical and economic studies to determine the optimum specification for the proposed renewable energy system. These assessments will likely take 1-2 months, after which ANGLEC, with financing support from CDB, can begin to seek proposals for the supply and installation of the solar PV and battery system.
As the region and the world continue to face varying threats from the climate to the economy, partnerships like this become critical to improve operational and energy security, reduce carbon emissions, and reduce and stabilize electricity prices to consumers. Both ANGLEC and CDB are placing great emphasis on ensuring the robustness of the proposed solar system to better withstand the volatility and intensity of category five (5) hurricanes in our region. This need for a unique and more resilient adaptation is likely to attract grant assistance and a low rate of interest on financing, both of which are appreciated and embraced by the ANGLEC team.
The potential this opportunity provides ANGLEC to increase the technical capability of its infrastructure for greater penetration of variable renewable energy generation, all while bringing the savings home to the local public, proves this partnership to be a powerful push towards Anguilla’s sustainable future.
ANGLEC is committed to working with all stakeholders, especially development partners such as CDB, to make Anguilla’s sustainable energy transition a reality within the next year. ANGLEC takes this time to thank CDB and the public for the invaluable support during this time.
– Press Release
28th July, 2022
