
The Islands Energy Program team hasn’t found an instance yet “where importing natural gas, diesel, propane or other fossil fuel for power generation is cheaper than the combination of solar plus storage or other renewable energy systems,” Burgess highlighted. “Solar really is the least-cost option in the Bahamas today.. . Three pillars support the program. The first is strategic planning that enables island governments, private and public-sector enterprises to undertake national clean energy transition programs. . Those characteristics led Shell to propose investing very large sums of capital to build out a 220–250-MW natural gas power plant. “It’s still early days. There’s no PPA [power purchase. [pdf]
Development of the four solar-fueled power systems will set the stage to scale the Family Islands solar program across the island chain’s outlying islands, as well as contribute to the Bahamas achieving a national goal of renewable energy resources meeting 30% of electricity needs by 2030.
Due to their geographic isolation, remote coastal and island communities often face high energy costs and vulnerable energy infrastructure due to their increased risk of natural disasters and climate change. Watch this video to learn more about the program.
Remote and island communities face several energy challenges, including unreliable power, lack of robust connections to mainstream power grids, and threats from strengthening storms.
An interactive, two-way grid is required given any grid-connected distributed solar or renewable energy, however, he added. “Studies have shown that the New Providence grid (which serves Nassau) can take at least 8 megawatts (MW) of solar without worrying about storage.
In addition to the Bahamas, the Islands Energy team is in the midst of assisting Caribbean island governments and utilities in five other jurisdictions craft and carry out clean, renewable energy transition: the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Belize, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Turks and Caicos. Three pillars support the program.
BPL Chairman Donovan Moxey was quoted in a Tribune Business news report. The Bahamas is a very difficult place to generate electricity, distribute it and sell it, even as compared to other Caribbean islands, Chris Burgess, Islands Energy Program projects director, told Solar Magazine.

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of used by for . A PSH system stores energy in the form of of water, pumped from a lower elevation to a higher elevation. Low-cost surplus off-peak electric power is typically used t. Because nuclear power plants are not designed to ramp up or down, their generation is constant at all times of the day. When demand for electricity is low at night, pumped hydro facilities store excess electricity for later use during peak demand. [pdf]
Pumped hydropower storage (PHS), also called pumped hydroelectricity storage, stores electricity in the form of water head for electricity supply/demand balancing. For pumping water to a reservoir at a higher level, low-cost off-peak electricity or renewable plants’ production is used.
Pumped storage is by far the largest-capacity form of grid energy storage available, and, as of 2020, accounts for around 95% of all active storage installations worldwide, with a total installed throughput capacity of over 181 GW and a total installed storage capacity of over 1.6 TWh.
For example, in case of a drought, conventional hydropower generation will be reduced, but the plant can still be used as pumped storage. The generation head of pump-back storage plants is usually low. However, the system is viable, as long as tunnels are not required. In Japan, a number of dams were built with reversible turbines [ 24 ].
An approximate rule of thumb for the amount of storage needed to support a large-area electricity network with high levels of variable solar and wind is 1 d (24 h) of energy consumption. This allows the day-night cycle of solar energy output to be accommodated. This storage could be a combination of pumped hydro and batteries.
ase.NUCLEAR ENERGY’S LAND FOOTPRINT IS SMALLDespite producing massive amounts of carbon-free power, nuclear energy produces more electrici rms require 360 times more land area to producethe same amount of electricity and solar mmercial reactor or more than 4 ncluded).NUCLEA
Energy storage for peak generation, intermittent renewable energies such as wind and solar, optimize electricity transmission, among others. Increase water and energy storage in water basins to regulate the river flow and increase hydropower generation. Store excess water during periods of high hydropower generation and reduce spillage.

The RES Group (Renewable Energy Systems) is the world's largest independent company, having been in the sector for more than 40 years. As of 2023 , the company had established more than 23 gigawatts of renewable energy projects worldwide and supported more than 12 gigawatts operations. Employing more than 2500 people in 14 countries, it operates onshore and in wind and , in energy storage and in transmission and distrib. [pdf]
We are deeply committed to excellence in all our endeavors.
Since we maintain control over our products, our customers can be assured of nothing but the best quality at all times.