East Grand Bahama residents are set to benefit from a proposed $4m microgrid project that will create 50 construction jobs during the 12-month build out.

They were informed of the project during a public meeting last Thursday at St Cleveland Baptist Church Hall in Freetown, which was hosted by the Ministry of Finance. It will deploy renewable energy, and provide the community with more resilient energy infrastructure that is better able to withstand devastating hurricanes anticipated in future.

The project is expected to begin at the end of 2024, with microgrids established at five locations - Freetown, High Rock, McLean’s Town, Sweeting’s Cay and Water Cay.

Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, said: “Our government is so focused on the revitalisation of East Grand Bahama and Grand Bahama in general. We are so happy to be here at this Town Hall meeting to hear their concerns. We believe the residents are appreciating what they are hearing here tonight.”

Also in attendance were Kwasi Thompson, MP for East Grand Bahama, and Iram Lewis, MP for central Grand Bahama. The project resulted from the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, which caused billions of dollars in damage on Grand Bahama and Abaco.

This resulted in residents of East Grand Bahama being without electricity, forcing them to either relocate or use generators. Through the microgrid project, facilitated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), east Grand Bahama’s power system will be rehabilitated and modernised with an interconnected grid network deploying solar energy designed to withstand increasingly severe hurricanes.