FortisTCI breaks ground for transformative solar microgrid in Twin Islands

BY DELANA ISLES

As promised earlier this year, FortisTCI has started construction of the territory’s first solar microgrid in North and Middle Caicos that will see the Twin Islands being 30% powered by solar energy.

On July 14, the ground was officially broken for construction to begin on the 1.2MW solar plus battery microgrid at Fortis’ location in Kew, North Caicos.

Once commissioned in 2024, the project will reduce the amount of fuel needed to generate electricity, thereby lowering carbon emissions and the cost of energy production over time in the two islands.

“We continue to advocate for supportive and modernised regulations to help advance the energy transition,” Fortis said following the groundbreaking.

In June, the utility company officially signed the contract for the construction of TCI’s first solar microgrid on the Twin Islands which starts this year, with Salt Cay next in line for a similar project in 2024.

Both microgrids represent an investment of approximately $8 million.

The battery system will store solar energy for release when needed for up to a maximum of four hours and allow the twin island's electricity system to disconnect and operate independently from the grid, if necessary. This will support the system's response and recovery in a mass power outage.

Both islands receive electricity via an undersea cable from Providenciales, thus the battery energy storage system will help to reduce grid disruptions and strengthen redundancy.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony were President and Chief Executive Officer of FortisTCI, Ruth Forbes and Chief Executive Officer at Compass Solar, Justin Cunningham.

Forbes said the mega grid project is transformative, not just for North and Middle, but the entire Turks and Caicos Islands.

“We are building a new energy system that will integrate solar with the current energy source,” Forbes said.

Canadian Solar, one of the world's largest solar photovoltaic product providers, will deliver the solar panel modules. Caribbeanbased renewable energy firm, Compass Solar, will lead the installation of the solar panels. Hitachi Energy, a global technology company, will provide a battery energy storage system to support the integration of this latest stream of renewable energy into the grid.

Chief Executive Officer at Compass Solar, Justin Cunningham said his company is excited to get the project off the ground, noting that the project will provide opportunities for locals in the Twin Islands.

Noting that it is a unique location, thus a challenging endeavour, Cunningham stated: “This is removed from the traditional areas of where we would build this, this is a little bit more remote, but we are really looking forward to bringing this microgrid to North and Middle Caicos.

“We are going to seek to maintain our commitment that we’ve had throughout our company’s history of a high level of quality and high level of product that we are going to install for you, and most importantly was a great day for providing opportunities locally for North and Middle Caicos residents in order to be part of this, to learn and gain knowledge on how we are going to build this and maybe have some of that knowledge stay here and provide opportunities going forward for other systems.”

Marketing

The twin islands microgrid is the company’s largest green energy investment to date and is intended to create value across various local sectors.

What this means for the consumer is that the grid will be more efficient and reliable.