The Tribune

In yesterday’s Tribune, reporter Rashad Rolle explored incredible advances in the means by which countries across the world are producing power, many of them using floating platforms for massive installations of solar panels. He noted as the price of solar panels continues to fall, solar panel platforms are rising in the waters of Asia, Australia, North and South America, Africa and Europe. From Japan to the Netherlands, water-based platform systems are contributing to the local power grid with a clearly defined goal, signalling a move towards the end of the era of environmentally destructive fossil fuels.

As The Tribune reporter asked: “If Malta can do it, what is stopping The Bahamas from positioning itself at the forefront of research into open sea floating solar panels?”

His question is a good one. It deserves a thoughtful response rather than a flippant dismissal as is often the case when something is proposed that is different from what is already being done.

The Bahamas is well-versed in avoiding change, especially if it involves imagination. There is a name for the condition. It is called astrophobia, fear of imagination and it is all too alive and far too well here in The Bahamas. For example, just in the past several days Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest was meeting with Oban Energies, supporting a plan that, if it does pass the required Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan tests, is still reliant on doing things the way they have always been done - storing and distributing fossil fuels, though the company claims their methods are cleaner than any before.

We understand Mr Turnquest sincerely wants economic recovery and jobs for Grand Bahama, his home and where his heart lies, but Oban’s proposal would be a lot more acceptable and appealing if it called for a gradual phasing out of storage for fossil fuels and dedication to research and installation of renewables, including land and sea-based solar power to add to the grid. There is no shortage of land in Grand Bahama and the private power company could provide a solid partnership.

How long is the rest of The Bahamas, and particularly New Providence, going to suffer from a system riddled with antiquated equipment that is expensive to operate, challenging to maintain and undeniably unreliable in both consistency and quality of power? Over the past week, there have been no fewer than four fires at BPL, the most recent one two days ago leaving thousands without power for up to 12 hours even though there was not a storm in sight.

The bitter truth is we are falling farther and farther behind the rest of the world in power generation. Consider the irony. We lead in tourism figures relative to size of population. Every day, The Bahamas population swells by more than ten times, a country of roughly 400,000 with more than six million visitors a year. The same bright and steady sun that shines nearly every day of the year and powers our number one economic driver, tourism, should fuel our electricity needs for business, school, hospitals, hotels and our life as a people not burdened by high costs and low performance.

We can safely sow the sea by installing floating solar platforms without harming marine resources and we can harvest its energy. Other nations struggle to find the right lake or river for a solar installation. We are blessed with the right waters all around us. The solution to our power problem is at hand and overhead, not just in the sea but on rooflines, an option that has not even been discussed. In many cities, business and apartment owners are renting rooftop space for the use of solar panels to power a nearby building. Between the surrounding sea and the buildings of Nassau and Freetown, the platforms for solar energy are plentiful.

There are numerous ways to produce clean energy -- wind, waves, even natural resources that can be manipulated to generate heat. It is true solar farms are large and consume vast amounts of ground. When Minister of Works Desmond Bannister says land-based solar farms are difficult in New Providence where there is insufficient available land at an affordable price, he may be absolutely right. But we believe his intent is also correct – to find innovative ways to produce clean energy and to do so with the greatest speed possible. His concern about lack of suitable acreage on the country’s most densely populated island is all the more reason to explore sea and rooftop platforms along with innovative means to green energy. Floating platforms seem the most practical because similar to tourist vs. resident numbers, there is more than 10 times as much water as land in The Bahamas, a nation of islands scattered over 100,000 square miles of open ocean with only 6,250 square miles of it land. Much of the water is shallow, making installation and maintenance even easier.

If others in government continue to play ostrich and bury their heads in the sand where they cannot see today let alone the future, the only solution is for civic organisations like those who are flexing muscle and showing their might trying to save Lighthouse Point in Eleuthera to take to the stage. The fight for the right electricity generation is one of the most important battles of the century if we want a Bahamas that is truly an enviable place in which to live, work and play. Otherwise, we who are blessed with year-round sun and ignoring its power are just kidding ourselves and we can take a back seat to civilizations from Australia to Africa who looked up, saw the sun and the light, recognised the potential of solar power and galloped ahead leaving us in their shadow.