Don’t burn gas, keep and/sell to generate income
Monday, July 11 2016
Given the high levels of Carbon dioxide (Co2) emissions in Trinidad and Tobago (TT), it will be wise to keep or sell gas instead of burning it as a means of providing energy for the people.
So suggested Coordinator Officer of the Meeco Group Global based in Germany, Eric Borremans, who promoted the use of solar for energising communities.
“We at the Meeco Group are motivated to be present on as many fronts as possible with a complete bundle of solutions. This bundle is called the “sun2seriesâ€. We have the “sun2flow†for the farmer irrigating its crops, the “sun2live†for residential properties, the “sun2safe†for hybrid and storage solutions (on grid and/or off grid) and the “sun2com†for telecom repeaters,†Borremans said on Friday.
He was delivering the feature address recently at the symposium titled the ‘Renewable Energy Symposium Road Map to 2021: Where are we and are we on track?’ The event was held at the University of the Trinidad and Tobago, Point Lisas’ Campus, in collaboration with the Energy Chamber of TT.
Borremans explained solar sites are mainly installed on large ground facilities and on roof whether flat or tilted. He noted however that preliminary studies have to be done to assess if the site location, orientation and shadowing are effective to obtain the best power yield. Borremans emphasised solar sites can happen everywhere.
He said TT currently uses approximately 150 GW (gigawatts) of power with a target of 150MW (megawatts) of renewable power by 2021.
Sharing some of the projects undertaken by the Mecco Group, Borremans highlighted the National Housing Programme at Antigua and Barbuda where workers are building a three MW (megawatts ) solar power project at the VC Bird International Airport . That “successful projectâ€, he claimed, is the biggest project in the Caribbean and provides 75 percent of the energy at the airport.
He suggested this country copy the success the group has in Antigua, so as to generate income.
Speaking to Newsday, Borremans said: “The most efficient option we can use here in TT would be roof tops and bigger projects like we did in Antigua and Barbuda.
You have already solar power in TT. You can install quite a lot of solar power because you have the roofs. If we install solar panels on government and administration buildings, schools, hospitals, universities and so on, that will help generate income.†Saying solar energy is not rocket science, Borremans emphasised the importance of educating the population about it.
“Once that is done, basically it is very easy to do. But, the people has to understand the process and certainly they have to believe in it.
This is what we meet all the time in starting new projects about renewable energies in different countries,†he explained.
The Meeco Group is a family- owned business present in 42 countries with more than 12 years experience in the solar renewable energy market and 85 years in the energy sector (from the “dark side of energy†-coal and oil- to the light).
Today in most remote areas of the world as well as in many urban areas, with daily fuel or energy price increases, photovoltaic (PV) generated electricity is cheaper than energy generated from fossil fuels, he said. The Meeco Group’s goal is to promote a progressive reduction in fossil fuel use and Borremans added it has been instrumental in executing and operating PV projects equal to a value of “more than €1.3 billion (euro) since 2006 “.
www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,230401.html
