By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A former FNM senator yesterday urged the government to make Bahamians "energy producers" by redirecting its $20m annual job allocation to solar loans.

John Bostwick II told Tribune Business that true "liberalisation of the energy sector" would allow Bahamian businesses and consumers to "get OUT", with the latter word standing for the country's motto of "onwards, upwards, together".

Describing The Bahamas as "the world's solar capital", he said its energy future lay in the government incentivising the adoption of this renewable energy form by providing low-interest, guaranteed loans to purchase the necessary equipment.

Mr Bostwick said Power Secure, Bahamas Power & Light's (BPL) former manager, had got it wrong by suggesting New Providence lacks sufficient vacant land to facilitate the development of utility-scale solar energy.

Instead, he argued that rooftop space on homes and businesses will more than compensate for the lack of vacant land, and added: "It's very much in out interests to be the world's leader on renewable energy."

Branding solar energy as "the long-term solution" for The Bahamas, Mr Bostwick told Tribune Business: "It's the liberalisation of the energy sector to allow every Bahamian- and it's important for me to get this out - to get onwards, upwards together; the 'get out'.

"We need to be put in a position that any capable homeowner and business owner is incentivised to the extent of no interest, government guaranteed loans. No more $20m job incentive programmes.

"Put all that directly into a solar incentive programme allowing me to borrow $25,000-$30,000 to get off the grid, put solar panels on the roof and car port, and bring in the storage batteries to allow me to become an energy producer not consumer."

Mr Bostwick added that Bahamians would move from being energy dependent to an actual asset if the government passed net metering or billing legislation, and allowed homeowners and businesses to sell excess energy stored in their batteries back to the grid.

"There's studies showing that with solarisation of 75-80 percent of roof tops in New Providence you effectively power the grid that way," he said. "If we take that philosophy and empower people to put it on their roof, and gain an income from having done so, you could effectively power New Providence with a clean and green solution to a large extent.

"We are in the world's solar capital where the Tropic of Cancer passes right through the heart of this country, right through Exuma and Long Island, and gives us more hours of sun than any other country in the Western Hemisphere other than a strip of land in Mexico.

"We have a greater saturation of solar energy than anywhere else, and we don't yet seek to embrace a technology proven in Germany and the Northern Hemisphere all the way down to Aruba. We're not sitting down thinking we can be an example to the world," Mr Bostwick continued.

"We should be seeking to be the world leader in renewable energy. It's very much in our interests. That will give us access to carbon credits, which are immensely valuable in today's world. We can trade those with other countries that are polluters, and it will massively assist our credit rating."