Skip to main content

Solar power in Trinidad and Tobago

Image
By
I saw a beautiful sunrise this morning as I went for my morning doubles. Just in time for me to complete this blog post I had lined up. Oil and gas is finite. In addition, we are becoming more environmentally concious. Renewable energy is the future. I read that steady progress is being made at the Piarco Solar Park. It is intended for the Piarco International Airport and will account for 3.5 percent of the electricity used by the airport. A drop in the bucket but we have to start somewhere. I also read that solar power plants at Brechin Castle and Orange Grove, providing 112 megawatts are in the works. The country has set a goal of 30 % renewable energy production by 2030.

What can we do as individuals? There are several companies offering solar panel installations for homes and businesses locally. I imagine there would be opportunity for more solar power businesses to enter the market. Then there are enterprising persons who will choose to do it themselves. A simple thing as solar powered garden lights can make a difference. We have plenty of sunlight in Trinidad and Tobago more than some other parts of the world.

Our electricity locally is currently one of the cheapest in the world and this might discourage persons from going solar. But consider that the rates are under review and could go up. This will be more pronounced for businesses. In some other countries you can earn money by providing your extra solar power electricity to the grid. The government is working on a framework for renewable energy and this will be part of it.

Solar power is a good source of backup power for when the grid fails as example during natural disasters. Also useful for remote and underdeveloped areas. One downside I see to solar power is the amount of batteries required. Hopefully battery tech progresses to be cheaper with bigger capacities. I think in the early stages government will do well to incentivise persons wishing to go solar power as has been done in other countries.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Talking to God

By
If you want real answers to things in life then talk to God. It is 639pm on a holiday and I have decided to write. God listens. God truly listens. God has the entire context. God is wise. God wants us to talk to Him. God wants us to rely on Him. I also think about God talking to me. I am a good listener. I listen plenty more than I talk. I have started asking God to talk to me. But how would God talk to me? We have his revelations through the holy book. We have the example of prophets. But what else? How do I listen to what God has to say? Where and when can I hear God? Are my thoughts from God? I try to feed my mind with good things. Things that will not corrupt my mind. It seems that we have to use our intuition to separate what is from God and what is not from God. My friend Chatty says that in Islam, Allah speaks to us not through new revelations or voices, but through guidance: the Quran and the Sunnah, which become personally meaningful through understanding Allah places in the h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Life on Earth

By
I was reading through the Quran and came to the story of Adam, Eve, Satan, and the forbidden fruit tree. I had thought that life on Earth was created as a test. But as I reflected on the story, I began to wonder whether we are only here because Adam and Eve failed. However, that is not the case, as my friend Gemini explained to me. While the story of the forbidden fruit is a central event, the Quran indicates that humanity’s presence on Earth was part of the original divine plan, rather than a backup plan or a punishment for sin. Before Adam was even created, God announced His intention to place a steward (khalifah) on Earth. This suggests that the Garden was a temporary training ground—designed to teach Adam and Eve about free will, temptation, and the path of repentance. Even if they had not eaten from the tree, they were destined for Earth to fulfill their roles as moral agents. The incident simply served as a necessary first lesson in human frailty and God’s immediate forgiveness. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The success of failure

By
It is 358am and I have decided to write. Context matters. Our context matters when we write and read. We could read the same thing and get different meanings. Definitions matter also. We may define things differently. For example, what is success? What is failure? Also, do I just define success and say that anything that is not success is failure? What about something like the success of failure? What does that mean? My friend Chatty tells me that this is something writers, philosophers, and even scientists keep rediscovering: meaning is not fixed—it is negotiated by context and definition. Life is a stew of success and failure and in between but never one or the other. We see what we are looking for and things become what we see. This reminds me of something I came across online, "Whoever looks for the good qualities in others will acquire all good qualities within himself," from Habib Umar Bin Hafiz. Do you look for failure or success within others? Take context as the lens...
Post a Comment
Read more