By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Abaco’s Chamber of Commerce president yesterday hailed the launch of a bidding process for Out Island microgrid, renewable and clean fuel generation as “fantastic”, adding: “I can’t wait for it to start.”

Daphne Degregory-Miaoulis told Tribune Business that “this is the direction all small island nations must be going 100 percent towards” after the Government unveiled the formal Request for Proposal (RFP) launch in the House of Assembly.

Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of transport and energy, disclosed that the Davis administration is seeking bids from independent power producers (IPPs) to provide microgrid solutions featuring a combined 25 Mega Watts (MW) of renewable energy and an “additional” 90 MW of “prime power generation” across multiple Family Islands.

“This innovative approach aims to deliver electricity to our Family Islands, ensuring a cleaner, more reliable and cost-effective energy system than our current framework,” she said.

“This transition to cleaner, more efficient fuels marks a crucial step in positioning The Bahamas as a leader in the regional and global energy transition, reflecting our commitment to environmental sustainability and technological advancement.”

The RFP itself identifies the targeted islands as Eleuthera; Harbour Island; Exuma (along with Black Point, Staniel Cay and Farmer’s Cay; Long Island; Abaco; Andros (Fresh Creek, Nichols Town, the Bluff and Mangrove Cay; Rum Cay; San Salvador and the Berry Islands.

While no land has been assigned for the 6 MW of renewables targeted at Harbour Island, some 32 acres of space is being allocated on mainland Eleuthera for microgrid and renewable solutions in the Hatchet Bay and Rock Sound areas. On mainland Exuma, some 64 acres will be made available in the vicinity of Georgetown, with small amounts of land required on the cays.

For Long Island, some 11.2 acres is said by the RFP to be required, which is located mainly in the Miller’s area. On Abaco, 96 acres has been earmarked in Marsh Harbour and Wilson City, and eight acres on Moore’s Island. The area needed on Andros, Rum Cay, San Salvador and the Berry Islands has also been laid out.

When it comes to the amount of renewable and clean fuel to be provided, the RFP stipulates that Abaco is to gain 56.8 MW, with Eleuthera and Harbour Island receiving 28.6 MW. Mainland Exuma is to get around 20 MW in the Georgetown area.

The RFP’s terms stipulate that all projects by IPPs, who will supply the energy produced to the Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) grid for “an initial period of 25 years” under a power purchase agreement (PPA), must “have a minimum renewable energy component of 30 percent to 50 percent”.

The sites where the microgrids and renewables will be located are to be leased by the Government to IPPs “at a nominal cost”, and all projects are to have majority 51 percent Bahamian ownership within three years with 40 percent of profits going to local equity holders.

“A key project element that is being sought is that of Bahamian ownership,” the RFP stipulates. “In this vein it is anticipated that the selected proposals will be subject to a build/operate/transfer arrangement. Additionally, it is important to the Government of The Bahamas that every Bahamian has an opportunity to benefit from the implementation of these projects.

“Therefore, consideration must be given to how 51 percent Bahamian ownership would be achieved within three years with 40 percent of the profit being disbursed to these equity holders. For the avoidance of doubt, Bahamian-owned respondents will receive preference during the RFP scoring process.”

Mrs Coleby-Davis confirmed these objectives, and said: “The project proposal’s evaluation is key to our goal, as we are committed to ensuring that every Bahamian could benefit from these projects. Therefore, we are giving special consideration to it. Achieving 51 percent Bahamian ownership within three years of these projects will have an additional score in this evaluation.

“The date of closure for submission of proposals will be on January 26, 2024. We urge all interested firms to submit clarification questions or obtain further information through the public procurement portal, where responses to all questions will be made available. Family Island site visits will start with Eleuthera on December 11, 2023.”

She added: “These projects aim to regulate resource management, improve energy storage capacity, facilitate new generation capabilities and enhance sustainability efforts. The development of microgrids on these various islands will ensure consistent and reliable power output for its inhabitants 24 hours a day.”

“We understand that each island has unique requirements, loads and generation levels. Therefore, the specification for the solar array will be at least 30 percent of the total installed generation on island in cases where the current generation is sufficiently serving island loads.

“We encourage respondents to explore alternative technologies such as microturbines and fuel cells, especially if they are suitable for specific situations.” Mrs Degregory-Miaoulis described the RFP’s launch as “fantastic”, and something that “bodes well” for The Bahamas’ battle against climate change on the world stage.

“We are so vulnerable to weather conditions,” the Abaco Chamber president added. “Solar is something you can always rely on post-hurricane. The sun will always shine and that was our experience personally after Hurricane Dorian. We had full power and water immediately after the hurricane. We were completely off-grid.

“It took us a week to five days to get here [Abaco Neem’s farm], but once here we had power and water from the get-go. This is what all the islands need, what all the small island nations ought to be going towards. This is a great start. We just can’t wait for it to be put into place.”