Bahamas News
Government moving on pledge to achieve 30 percent conversion to renewable energy by 2030
By: Kathryn Campbell
Bahamas Information Services
#TheBahamas, June 9, 2022 – The government is forging ahead to achieve energy sector reform in the country with 30 per cent conversion to renewable energy, or ‘solar power,’ by 2030.
Long Cay
The initiative would reduce reliance on traditional fossil fuel energy sources, which are very costly, contribute to high cost of living in The Bahamas and elsewhere, and add to adverse climate change globally.
To begin the process of conversion to solar power, Technical Assessments for the installation of Solar Photovoltaic Systems are underway in North Andros, Inagua, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, Marsh Harbour and Abaco to assist the country in its transformation to clean renewables.
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis in his recent Budget Communication highlighted the importance of the solar power initiative, noting that “it has long been a major complaint of businesses that a key challenge to the Ease of Doing Business over the years has been the very high costs of electricity, the unreliable supply of electricity, and the limited inclusion of solar technologies in our energy mix, even despite our abundant potential for solar power and the tools at our disposal to solve this problem.”
The prime minister in his Fiscal Year 2022/2023 Budget Communication, May 25, 2022 recalled the execution of an $80 million loan on August 5th, 2020 with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the “Reconstruction with Resilience in the Energy Sector in The Bahamas.”
The objective of the loan was to support the government with the rehabilitation of critical energy infrastructure and restoration of electricity service in islands heavily-affected by Hurricane Dorian, while facilitating the integration of Renewable Energy (RE).
The specific objectives were to:
(i) Support the rehabilitation of the electricity transmission and distribution system and installation of new and resilient RE capacity in Abaco and East Grand Bahama;
(ii) Promote the adoption of solar PV technologies in the Family Islands; and
(iii) Contribute to the improvement of the regulatory framework for RE technologies and the mechanisms for its deployment.
The Prime Minister advised that there has been “very little” progress since 2020, and that “since coming into office my administration has moved quickly to rectify this and to capitalize on this missed opportunity by strengthening the Project Execution Unit (PEU) in the Ministry of Finance to ensure timely delivery, value for money and to co-ordinate activities with other relevant stakeholders on this project. The result has been substantial progress on this project in the past few months.”
The immediate focus is the introduction and implementation of new models to develop resilient solar PV installations in The Bahamas.
“To accomplish this an assessment of energy systems in New Providence and the Family Islands will need to be done. This work will start in the southeastern islands, namely Inagua, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island and Long Cay.
“This year we will deploy in those islands, public decentralized solar PV plants; rooftop systems and innovative microgrids with storage capacity; and grid modernization technologies to improve the reliability and resiliency of the power network on these islands.
North Andros
“Additionally, pilot installations of Solar Photovoltaic Systems on public buildings in Andros will also be carried out. Thereafter, the installations of Solar Photovoltaic Systems with be extended to the Central and Northern Bahamas.
“A key aspect of this project is to ensure Bahamian participation and ownership in this industry. What this means, is that going forward, we are committed that all future maintenance, installation, site works or the like, will be conducted by Bahamians.”
In the first cohort of this initiative, the Government has committed to have a minimum of 25 Bahamians, trained and certified to operate in this sector.
“We will also commit and ensure that government funding agencies make resources available to those individuals who have successfully completed this course, in order to support them in opening their own business in this sector. We will also encourage the inclusion of green technology in all new major construction, and eventually provide the opportunity to offer similar services around the region,” he said.
At a Local Government Practitioners Conference, May 25, at SuperClubs Breezes, Prime Minister Davis informed that he has “direct superintendence of this energy and economic development project,” and assessments are being led by members of the Project Execution Unit/Reconstruction with Resilience in the Energy Sector in The Bahamas Program, within the Ministry of Finance.
He said, “This transformative initiative is contained in my Government’s Economic Plan and Blueprint to provide renewable and solar energy for the country thereby reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuel by 30 percent by 2030.”
He admonished Local Government practitioners that they are on the frontline in leading this transformation, and that he and the minister are counting on their “strong leadership in making this a success.”
On March 30, 2022 the government, led by Minister of Economic Affairs, Senator the Hon. Michael Halkitis, signed a $9 million contract funded by the European Union in partnership with the IDB to assist in the expanded use of clean, renewable energy, and promote post-hurricane reconstruction ‘with resilience’ in The Bahamas.
Marsh Harbour, Abaco
During the signing held at the Ministry of Finance, Senator Halkitis said, “It is worth noting that a high priority of this administration is to reduce the use of fossil fuel by creating an environment for renewable energy, where interested persons or entrepreneurs can participate in, among other things, the application of solar energy for the advancement of industry that is propelled by clean energy. Today, the EU and IDB are providing financial assistance of approximately $9 million, in grant funds, to assist in transforming a plan for renewable energy into reality.”
He said that the support comes at a very timely moment given the current geopolitical circumstances impacting fuel prices and the rise in the costs of goods and services. He also alluded to the current energy investment initiative that is at present being funded by the IDB at a cost of $80 million.
“This project, in summary, entails the installation of renewable energy capacity in East End Grand Bahama and Abaco. The Family islands are also expected to receive support from the energy investment project as solar systems will be constructed on these islands to reduce reliance on traditional energy.”
Photo Caption: Technical Assessments are taking place in Family Islands for the installation of Solar Photovoltaic Systems as part of the country’s energy sector reform for 30 percent reliance on renewable energy (solar power) by 2030.
(BIS Photos/Ulric Woodside).
Long Cay – Photos 1 and 2
North Andros – 3
Marsh Harbour, Abaco – 093103 and 092514
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
-
News6 days agoDDME Staff Strengthen Disaster Management Capacity Through Professional Development Workshop
-
Caribbean News1 week agoLiberty Caribbean Supports Regional Forum on AI, Cyber Resilience and Digital Inclusion
-
News6 days agoThe Turks and Caicos Islands Set Positive Start to 2026 with Increase in January Stayover Arrivals