Two grid-scale solar power projects to be constructed in Trinidad will deliver electricity at prices on par with the current average cost of electricity generated from natural gas, according to Trinidad & Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, talking at day one the Energy Chamber's Energy Efficiency and Renewables Conference 2020.
The Prime Minister gave further information on the projects, that had been previously announced but with few details. He reported that a consortium formed by Lightsource Renewable Global Development Limited (Lightsource BP), Shell Trinidad and Tobago Limited and BP Alternative Energy Trinidad and Tobago Limited had submitted successful proposals for two projects. These projects will generate 92.2 MW of electricity from solar photovoltaic (PV) sources at Couva; and 20 MW of electricity from solar PV sources at Trincity, at a cost that is on par with the current electricity prices in T&T. While the Prime Minister did not give a specific price for the solar PV electricity, Trinidad & Tobago electricity prices are the lowest within the Caribbean and amongst the lowest in the world.
Speaking later in the same event, the Trinidad & Tobago Minister of Energy, Senator the Honorable Franklin Khan, reported that available data indicates that these two projects will be the biggest solar projects in the Caribbean region. Minister of Public Utilities, the Honourable Fitzgerald Hinds, also gave details of a 1.4 MW solar project in execution at the Piarco Airport, constructed in collaboration with the European Union and a small-scale solar project at the Queens Park Savannah, specifically for electric vehicle charging.
Both the Prime Minister and the two Ministers outlined how the significant improvements in renewable energy and energy storage technologies over the years now allow the country to gradually diversify the local energy mix, but without compromising the reliability and affordability of electricity supply to citizens and industries while reducing the carbon footprint of the country.
The Prime Minister also mentioned another utility-scale alternative energy project was on the drawing boards, in the form of a Waste to Energy Facility. This will produce up to 10MW of electricity at the Beetham Landfill. Bids for this project are in the process of being evaluated.
The Prime Minister’s presentation also discussed the hydrogen economy and the potential it holds for Trinidad and Tobago. He added that it was the government's intention to collaborate with key stakeholders to explore different applications of hydrogen within the local economy. As a result of Trinidad and Tobago’s unique energy sector composition and design, it finds itself in a position to positively benefit from the advent of hydrogen in our own energy transition undertaking.
Later in the day’s proceedings Philip Julien, Managing Director of NewGen Energy announced that they had managed to raise USD 0.5 million from local private investors to undertake pre-FEED work for a major hydrogen facility. The plan is that this facility will deliver carbon-neutral hydrogen using waste heat from current power generation facilities, as well as green hydrogen from renewable sources, to the Point Lisas petrochemical cluster by 2023.
Various industry speakers, including Mark Loquan, President of NGC, Clair Fitzpatrick, regional president of bpTT and Stephane Picarle, General Manager Commercial of Shell Trinidad and Tobago outlined how energy efficiency and renewables is extremely important for the future of the gas industry.
Natural gas also plays a huge role in in the energy transition. Energy mix projections to 2050 show the increasing reliance on natural gas to support the growth of renewable energy while other fossil fuels are reduced over time along with coal. In Trinidad and Tobago natural gas is the major driver of the economy and at the moment almost 100% of the electricity is produced using this fuel. Limited natural gas availability means that the natural gas supply must be critically managed to yield the highest national economic benefit while lowering emissions.
While some market observers have speculated that the energy transition may slow due to economic uncertainty created by COVID 19, the industry presenters at the event all believed that the energy transition would continue and even accelerate as the world emerges from the crisis. Most major oil and gas companies are accelerating spending on and diversifying into renewable and low carbon energy in response to growing concerns over climate change. The International Energy Agency forecasts the world’s total renewable-based power capacity to increase 50% between 2019 and 2024. At the heart of this energy transition is the need to reduce energy-related CO2 emissions to limit climate change.