“We Are Abaco Sturdy” — The Bahamas Inspiring Resilience At Scale

In July 2015, after Hurricane Matthew struck The Bahamas, Dr. Rhianna Neely determined it was the final time they’d journey out a storm like this. Energy outages, so frequent throughout these storms, had left her household, which now included a four-month-old child, in darkness, with no followers or air con to chill them from the blistering warmth. “That was hell on wheels,” Neely informed RMI.

From that day ahead, Neely arrange her residence for resilience, including storage backup in order that even within the overcast days that adopted heavy storms, the power from her photo voltaic panels would nonetheless be obtainable. Because the director of the federal government’s division of environmental planning and safety, Neely is now working to strengthen her nation’s local weather response.

“Local weather change in The Bahamas is rather more than renewable power,” Neely stated. “It’s a matter of survival on an existential in addition to sensible degree. For one, the nation itself is getting smaller, as sea degree rise inundates seashores and low-lying areas change into uninhabitable wetlands. That rise compromises underground aquifers, that means the nation’s planners should once more flip to expertise and produce water by way of reverse osmosis.”

Though The Bahamas has a negligible carbon footprint of its personal, the nation is decided to point out different bigger, extra polluting nations what will be performed, Neely stated. “It’s necessary for us to point out {that a} nation of our dimension can do one thing to influence the local weather, and different nations which might be bigger — and are having extra of an influence on the local weather system — ought to do much more.”

Shifting from Dependence to Independence

By Caribbean requirements, The Bahamas is affluent. On a per capita foundation, it outranks not solely its neighbors but in addition its tourism-focused opponents like Greece and Croatia. Vacationers flock to the archipelago for the sunshine and pristine seashores, contributing to roughly half of its annual GDP.

For now, fossil fuels energy all of it. And for all its relative wealth, The Bahamas is roughly 92 % depending on gas imports from exterior the nation — and on the whim of the worth fluctuations that include it.

Additional, Neely and her colleagues are working to place the solar to work not only for vacationers on their solar loungers, however for Bahamians of their day-to-day lives. Some high-profile solar energy tasks have already materialized: a 950 kW photo voltaic cover on the nationwide stadium in Nassau and a first-of-its-kind photo voltaic panel array able to withstanding the sorts of hurricanes anticipated to change into extra highly effective, and extra frequent, because the earth’s temperature rises.

One other first of its type for The Bahamas, is the not too long ago accomplished photo voltaic and battery microgrid on Ragged Island. That system powers the small fishing neighborhood on Ragged with over 90 % renewable power due to a collaboration between RMI, the federal government, and the nationwide utility, Bahamas Energy and Gentle. There are additionally a number of new photo voltaic installations on authorities roofs over the previous yr due to the assist of the InterAmerican Growth Financial institution and RMI. However these tasks are simply the very begin of an formidable 7-year transition.

Even earlier than the struggle in Ukraine introduced gasoline costs to eye-watering ranges, Bahamian authorities coverage had begun to align with the necessity to construct a greater, cleaner power future for the islands.

The Bahamas has set a goal of 30 % renewable power manufacturing by 2030, a purpose that requires a whole lot of latest photo voltaic and power effectivity tasks. The nationwide utility estimates the nation should not solely set up 260 megawatts of photo voltaic power, but in addition cut back electrical energy demand by 1 % every year for the following ten years.

Making these plans a actuality entails a dramatic scaling up of photo voltaic capability from the capital in Nassau out to its extra sparsely inhabited “household” islands that account for roughly 30 of the 700 islands that make up the nation.

Protecting the Lights on at Colleges

In Abaco, a bunch of household islands which might be a two-hour boat journey from Nassau, RMI is working alongside the federal government and Compass Photo voltaic, to offer photo voltaic and storage techniques to a few major colleges throughout Abaco that had been closely broken in Hurricane Dorian. These techniques permit the colleges to higher fulfil their twin roles as each establishments of studying and emergency shelters for the encircling neighborhood. Yesterday, the nation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to have fun these three techniques coming on-line.

Bahamian Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. I. Chester Cooper, alongside authorities officers, RMI and venture companions, earlier than reducing the ribbon to have fun the brand new techniques throughout Abaco major colleges. Picture credit score Compass Photo voltaic.

One faculty in Abaco’s Nice Guana Cay has remodeled from a facility that skilled as many as 5 energy cuts a day to 1 that now runs on regular, dependable energy from the solar. That’s important for this faculty as a result of specialist courses are nonetheless taught nearly from the mainland, making a reliable web connection essential. Now the one signal they’ve of an influence outage is when the neighborhood generator kicks in to make sure cellphone service continues to be obtainable.

The RMI and Compass Photo voltaic Group smile in entrance of the finished photo voltaic and storage set up at Nice Guana Cay Main College. Picture credit score RMI.

Tavia Maynard, Nice Guana Cay faculty principal, says the venture helps remove any studying hole between her college students and people in bigger colleges. “Phrases can’t specific the sensation that we have now realizing that even when the facility is out elsewhere, our college students don’t need to expertise that.”

The pupils at Man-O-Struggle Cay faculty, one of many few Eco colleges in The Bahamas, have additionally purchased in, even when they show a baby’s pure skepticism that that is all too good to be true: “I’ve to typically be careful as a result of they’ll have me sitting in darkness,” Mrs. Deborah Clarke, the varsity’s principal stated, including that the scholars are so decided to preserve power that they’ll change off the lights the second she leaves the room. “I’ve to clarify that Mrs. Clarke is planning on coming again in right here to do some work or else they’ll click on these lights off in a rush,” she laughs.

Mrs. Clarke, principal of Man-O-Struggle Main College, teaches college students arithmetic. Picture credit score RMI.

For Clarke, the transition was so simple as clearing out a closet to make manner for battery storage. These batteries now present back-up energy in order that, storm or sunshine, the varsity will take pleasure in constant entry to electrical energy.

Clarke stated the varsity’s new energy supply provides to a resilience already ingrained in its folks. After Hurricane Dorian, Clarke stated, “Individuals had been battered however they weren’t knocked down. Regardless that the homes had been destroyed, no person stopped and stated, ‘Woe is me,’ they put their fingers to the plow they usually began work instantly.”

“We’re Abaco robust,” Clarke added. “So meaning you’re knocked down, however you’re not forgotten and also you’re not knocked out, you’re going to rebuild.”

Simone Pinder, a fifth grade instructor at Central Abaco Main College, shared how being on the faculty throughout the photo voltaic and storage set up course of taught her so much. “Once I assume photo voltaic, I simply assume, solar!” she laughed. “I didn’t find out about all that went into placing the panels up. The Compass Photo voltaic installers taught me a couple of issues; I by no means thought it might be so detailed.”

Compass Photo voltaic installer at dawn on the roof of Abaco Central Main finishing the photo voltaic installations. Picture credit score Compass Photo voltaic.

As Pinder emphasised, the varsity techniques are extremely impactful, however planning and putting in renewable power techniques requires talent. To develop the advantages seen throughout the colleges and meet the size of the nation’s want, The Bahamas will want a military of installers.

Creating the Inexperienced Workforce

That’s why final month, the federal government, alongside RMI and with assist from the Inexperienced Local weather Fund, launched a photo voltaic evaluation and power auditing coaching program to assist 20 chosen contributors from Bahamian universities, the utility, and authorities in constructing the abilities required to appreciate clear, resilient power — at scale. This capacity-building initiative will put together the cohort of Bahamian engineers, technicians, electrical contractors, and different professionals to actively take part within the nation’s pursuit of its sustainable power objectives by offering them with coaching in photo voltaic PV and power effectivity.

The Minister of the Setting and Pure Sources, Hon. Vaughn P. Miller, provides opening remarks on the primary day of the nationwide photo voltaic and power auditing coaching program. Picture credit score Authorities of The Bahamas.

Philipp Feller, a V.P. of Photo voltaic at Compass Photo voltaic System Ltd, a Bahamian-owned photo voltaic firm that was engaged by RMI to design and set up the photo voltaic PV techniques on the three Abaco colleges, sees the worth in getting extra Bahamians concerned within the power transition: “Similar to you’re coaching plumbers, nurses, engineers, and everybody else, there have to be coaching obtainable in order that native firms can pull from a pool of ‘graduates’ that may come into the sphere and be productive.”

Whereas the urge for food to rework power in The Bahamas is robust, there may be nonetheless a protracted highway forward. Within the meantime, whereas the nation ramps up its renewable power capabilities, Neely, the federal government director, hopes the investments in photo voltaic and storage expertise will present frontline reduction when the following hurricane inevitably makes landfall. “I feel there will probably be a collective sigh of reduction that hey, I’m so completely happy that we made this funding and that we will see the payoff of the funding proper then and there.”

By Tierney Sheehan, Colm Quinn

© 2023 Rocky Mountain Institute. Revealed with permission. Initially posted on RMI Outlet.

Extra: The Bahamas Bolsters Hurricane-Resilient, Clear Power at Three Main Colleges and Lays Foundations for Scaling