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Why
T&T should go solar
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The benefits will translate into less strain on the
utility grid, long term energy security and higher rates
of employment than in the oil and gas sector, long term
cost savings for individual homes, and it will reduce
the energy subsidies that the government provides to our
electricity supply.
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The less natural gas we use for domestic consumption the
more we can export.
I
spent two years in Sydney, Australia, at the University
of New South Wales completing my Masters in photovoltaics
and solar energy and working for a renewable energy company.
That experience was a real eye-opener for me as I came to
appreciate the tremendous potential and power of solar energy
both for generating electricity and heat.
The university I attended had an entire school dedicated
to harnessing this power technically and more importantly
to creating the right energy policy to stimulate the growth
of this sector.
There is a common misconception that solar is not ready
to compete with fossil fuels and more research needs to
be done before it can be deployed but from what I have seen
first hand, this is not the case.
The Australian Government created a small regulated renewable
energy market in 2000 to increase deployment of new renewable
energy to a target of 9500 giga watt hours within ten years
to 2010.
However after a short period of time the market started
to perform much quicker than was anticipated. This was due
to increases in the price of energy and also climate change
which was reducing the water supply.
The water supply affects energy supply if the energy is
produced from a hydro electric plant. The less water there
is in the storage reservoir the less energy there is to
power the turbine when the water is released. The water
supply also affects energy produced from coal because water
is necessary for cooling the furnaces. Without this water
the furnaces would over heat and would have to be shut down.
All this translated into higher demand for solar electric
generation which does not require water.
In addition the market price per unit watt paid to solar
electric generators increased.
I also studied the energy policies of Germany that created
a system that allows homes to export energy they generate
back into the grid. The price per unit watt generated is
paid by the utility companies at a higher rate than that
which they charge for the energy which they provide from
their power stations. Therefore in sunny months it is possible
for homes to get a net gain which translates to energy credits
which can be cashed in.
This strategy has resulted in Germany having the largest
uptake of solar energy in Europe.
In developing countries in Asia solar is also spreading
organically because financial institutions began to recognise
solar modules as collateral security for micro loans.
If payment are missed then the solar modules are repossessed.
I should also mention that our neighbour Barbados has the
highest uptake per capita for solar home hot water systems
in the Caribbean due to tax incentives. They are second
in the world only to Israel.
This silent revolution has been occurring even before the
price of energy rose to the high levels today.
The dramatic rising price of oil is a result of the world
reaching the point where supply and demand for oil are now
on par. At this point rising spikes in the oil price can
occur due to speculation about the weather or rumors of
war in oil producing countries.
Another important fact for the future of oil prices is the
concept of global peak oil. Peak oil is the point in time
when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is
reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal
decline. We are currently at the edge of the plateau of
peak oil. Any time period after this point will result in
slowing of economic growth.
From what I have seen political will is one of the biggest
barriers to the proliferation of Solar energy.
I think that Trinidad and Tobago is well poised to take
advantage of our sunny location (11 degrees north of the
equator) and increased wealth from our natural gas sales
to diversify into Solar energy.
The benefits will translate into less strain on the utility
grid, long term energy security and higher rates of employment
than in the oil and gas sector, long term cost savings for
individual homes, and it will reduce the energy subsidies
that the government provides to our electricity supply.
The less natural gas we use for domestic consumption the
more we can export.
My basic message is that if all these countries can do it
so can we.
Now is the time to make the switch to solar before the price
of the components that comprise a solar panel increases
resulting in the increase in price of the solar panels themselves.
Sustainable development must be the guiding force for a
progressive country. I honestly believe that we can become
the first nation on earth to be totally solar for residential
and commercial buildings if we try.
Below are definitions of two key words used:
Photovoltaic: conjunction of the old Greek word “photon”
meaning light and “volt”, the force that makes
electrons move hence electrical energy derived from sunlight.
Renewable energy: energy obtained from sources that are
essentially inexhaustible, unlike, for example, the fossil
fuels, of which there is a finite supply. Examples wind,
biomass, geothermal, solar.
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