Comet Energy Systems on Anguilla

I am Chris Mason, and I run an Alternative Energy Installation company based in Anguilla but offering services throughout the Caribbean. I feel it important for the future of Anguilla that we are aware of our energy consumption and are ready to discuss alternative sources. Like most Caribbean Islands, Anguilla gets 100% of its power from burning diesel and is entirely at the mercy of the oil suppliers. The Government is aware of the dangers of this dependency and has explored the use of Renewable Energy Sources in the National Energy Policy which you can find on the Comet Energy website http://www.cometenergysystems.com/. It makes for interesting reading.

With the current high rate of Electricity, many homeowners in Anguilla have expressed interest in purchasing Solar PV systems to reduce their energy usage and to help reduce Anguilla's dependence on imported fuel. At the present time, Anguilla's Electric Utility, ANGLEC, does not allow the interconnection, or Grid-Tie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-grid, of Solar PV systems or Wind Power. I am working with the Government's National Energy Committee to introduce the use of Renewable Energy to Anguilla and to promote the adoption of Grid-Tie. As a qualified and trained local installation company, Comet Energy Systems brings experience and knowledge of Solar and Wind systems to the island allowing for the safe and professional installation of Alternative Energy Systems.

As a service to the community and to promote the adoption of Renewable Energy Sources, I will present some information on the systems and products available to the homeowner in Anguilla on this forum as a series of posts. Comments and questions are invited and I will try to answer them all.
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Chris Mason
Comet Energy Systems
264.235.5670

As Anguilla's Electric Utility does not currently allow the interconnection of Solar PV systems, the homeowner may feel that there is no way to use Solar PV to reduce their power consumption without going Off-Grid and having a large amount of batteries. But this is not necessarily true. There are a number of ways to use Solar PV to reduce your monthly bill and to feel good about your contribution to reducing our dependence on imported power. Solar Pool Pumping can be a very viable solution if you have a pool.

Solar pool pumps are DC powered pumps that run directly from a set of Solar PV Modules. The complete kit will look something like the photo shown here.

By replacing the pool pump with a solar pump, the homeowner avoids that power consumption which can be one third of the total monthly bill, even more if the owner is away for much of the year as is common.

Let's explore the economics. We will take a rather typical villa, let's call it Sun Villa. It doesn't matter where it is in Anguilla, as long as it has a suitable roof, so let's assume it does. Sun Villa has a South facing roof with a nice gentle slope, ideal for Solar. If your villa has a suitable roof but it faces East or West, it will still work with some loss of efficiency. The Solar modules can also be ground mounted if the roof is not suitable.

The owner of Sun Villa spends an average of $600 a month on electricity when he is there which works out at 600/.32 = 1875 KWh. He has a 1.5 HP pump, pretty typical, and runs it for 8 hours a day. The pump uses 480 KWh per month. However, the owner lives in the US and is not in Sun Villa for six months of the year. He turns off everything he can when he is not there, but of course the pump still runs. He gets a bill for 800 KWh when he is not there.

The DC pool pump is more efficient than the standard AC pool pump already attached to a power grid tied pool pump. A 3/4 HP DC pump is generally capable of replacing a 1 to 1.5 HP AC motor. The Solar Pump does not require a timer, as it runs when the sun is shining and does not cost anything, so there is no reason to stop it running.

A suitable 3/4 HP pool pump and Solar Modules will save about 480 x .32 x 12 = $1843 annually at today's rates. However, if you remember 2008 when oil went to $145 a barrel, you could be looking at much greater savings in the future. Once purchased, the Solar modules should last in excess of 25 years without significant performance degradation. Based on today's electricity rates, the system should pay for itself in four years but any increase in the rate will decrease that period significantly.

Additionally, each kWh produced by coal-burning power plants contributes 1.9 pounds of pollutants to our atmosphere! This means the average solar pool pump installation prevents over 11,000 pounds of pollutants from entering our atmosphere each year.

Solar PV is not trivial to install. Any electrical equipment being attached to a roof should be installed by trained installers and should be compliant with US codes to ensure the safety of the homeowner and the house. A properly installed system should be trouble free for many years.

Advantages of Solar Pool Pumps
* The most cost effective use of solar electricity
* No permission needed to install
* Completely eliminates the 2nd largest load on your electric bill
* Low maintenance, simple setup, few components
* Uses less than 50% of the energy of a conventional pump
* Solar systems are currently exempt from import duty

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