BELCO’s energy evolution for the future

Krista Barnes, Director, Communications and Sustainability, explains BELCO’s long term plans

For the past 117 years, Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited (BELCO) has been proudly powering the homes and businesses of Bermuda. During that time, much has changed; consumption of electricity has grown exponentially, and our system has been continually improved and adapted to meet the needs of our customers, always working to make the system safer, more economical, and more reliable. We have also learned over the decades about the environmental impact of our power generation operations, and we have worked steadily to remediate historical damage while seeking new, more sustainable methods of generating electricity.

In April 2020, our North Power Station (NPS), which is comprised of four generating assets, was commissioned to replace inefficient and outdated engines with modern, efficient engines. Alternative power generation technology is improving, and we believe now, more than ever, there is an opportunity to transition to economical, large-scale, renewable power for Bermuda. Going forward, our focus is on achieving Net Zero by 2050 through the use of battery energy storage systems; offsetting emissions; energy efficiency measures; the introduction of more renewable energy sources to our energy mix; and upgrading our transmission and distribution infrastructure to accommodate the intermittent nature of most renewable technology.

Since inception, BELCO has installed numerous power generating assets along with smokestacks to meet the island’s energy demands. With the installation of the North Power Station and our Battery Energy Storage System along with our commitment to a sustainable energy future for Bermuda, we have been able to retire a number of generating units through our Asset Retirement Project. Of our generating assets installed from 1975 onwards, we have been able to demolish and safely dispose of 12 diesel engines, 3 gas turbines and 5 smokestacks. Not only does the Asset Retirement Project address a number of safety concerns on-campus, along with a number of the operational and environmental concerns of our stakeholders, but it also creates usable space for our future diversification requirements, increases the aesthetic appeal of our facility, remediates any historical damage to the property, and will ensure the safe removal of hazardous material.

The Asset Retirement Project is confined to the BELCO central plant with the demolition portion of the project expected to reach completion by the close of 2023.

As the energy industry has evolved over the past century, BELCO has strived to go above and beyond in terms of safety and service to the community while evolving with the industry. We are committed to investing in Bermuda’s sustainable energy future; however, we recognise that change does not happen overnight. The amalgamation of all the small steps we take will bring us success and we are excited about the progress we have made so far. We encourage all of our stakeholders to remain connected with us because this is only the beginning!

To connect with BELCO and learn more about the Asset Retirement Project progress, visit www.belco.bm.