Tuesday’s report that solar power now accounts for 45 per cent of the electricity supplied by St. Eustatius Utility Company STUCO will no doubt have been read with some degree of jealousy by alternative energy supporters in St. Maarten. So far local utilities provider GEBE has not produced anything meaningful in that sense.
Granted, the government-owned company has other major concerns following the severe blow to its infrastructure and facilities caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, including worrisome operational losses. The immediate focus is therefore understandably on repairing the damage and getting GEBE back on solid financial footing.
Nevertheless, for the long term, switching to sustainable energy seems like a no-brainer, especially on an island with plenty of sunshine and wind practically all year. A plan to roof the public parking lots on the Pondfill with solar panels was never executed because government at the time did not want to give up the land rights.
But to truly promote alternative energy, more will be needed that just investments by GEBE. The company will also need to introduce a system to buy back excess electricity of independent producers fed back into the grid, as already is the case in many other countries, including Curaçao.
One must also consider potential problems regarding a stable supply due to continued issues with storing energy. Especially in a tourist destination this is obviously essential and, for example, Aruba has several projects to deal with that specific shortcoming.
In the Windward Islands there is another important factor that cannot be overlooked. They are situated inside the so-called Hurricane Belt and in view of the apparently increasing power of these tropical systems, one would have to realistically reckon with sustained winds of up to 200 miles per hour.
So, “green” energy yes, but only if SXM strong.
