Ragged Island solar field complete, says Bahamas Power and Light (BPL)

NASSAU, NP – February 6, 2020 —Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd. (BPL) confirms that the solar field in Ragged Island is complete. However, due to our response to the ravages of Abaco by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, our timeline for getting solar power to the grid in Ragged Island has slipped.

BPL CEO Whitney Heastie said, “Even though the solar installation contractor is in a position to meet its targets, BPL’s resource commitments in Abaco have meant that were unable to hit our January 2020 target. The solar field in Ragged Island is largely complete, save for final wiring, grounding and protection works, as well as finalizing inverter installation.”

Salt Energy LLC was awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with a fixed-tilt ground mount-type PV array, an Energy Storage Systems (ESS), and a Power Management System (PMS) capable of managing all sources of energy (PV, battery, generator). Freeport-based Waugh Construction is subcontracted on the project. The installation of a solar and battery storage renewable energy solution is taking place in stages. The first stage was the completion of the solar field.

Heastie explained that for the next phase, BPL is required to build overhead line interconnections for the solar field to the plant, which is expected to take one week once the work starts. Following that, the battery storage facility will be constructed at the plant, after which we expect an additional week will be necessary for works once the battery storage solution is complete.

He added that BPL has identified the materials needed to complete its works, and is already staging provisioning of those materials in order to enable a single-step process, given the acknowledged logistical challenges getting into Ragged Island.

PRESS RELEASE BPL