SABA/THE HAGUE:--- The Saba delegation while in the Netherlands last week, met with Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Rob Jetten to discuss the renewable energy plans for Saba.
“We talked about the importance of more renewable energy with the objective of eventually reaching 100% on an average day, which will greatly reduce our dependency on fossil fuel,” said Commissioner Bruce Zagers, who met with Jetten, together with Island Secretary Tim Muller and Senior Policy Advisor Nicole Johnson. Saba is looking for investment support from the Dutch Government for the renewable energy plans.
The most feasible scenario to eventually accomplish 100% is a combination of wind and solar energy. This scenario has the highest fuel savings to reduce the variable tariff for the consumer. On an average day with sun and wind, sufficient energy would be generated to fully supply Saba, and no diesel would be used to run the generators in the power plant. On such average days, there would be 100% independency from fossil fuels.
Overall, the combination of solar and wind energy would result in a projected reduction of 76% compared to the current usage of fossil fuels. Currently, Saba has two solar parks, one is located next to the Juancho Yrausquin Airport and the other above the Medical School. As part of the new project, a wind turbine would be constructed, possibly at Fort Bay. Without the solar parks and the subsidies, provided by the Public Entity Saba and the Dutch Government, consumers’ electricity bills would be considerably higher.
Having solar and wind energy, together with additional battery storage, will provide Saba with the highest renewable energy fraction of more than 80%. This will help Saba get closer to its target of 100% sustainable energy in the future. The best scenario was determined with the assistance of an external consultancy, The Green World Company (TGWC), hired by the Saba Electric Company (SEC).
