Renewable Energy for TCI Tourism

Luxury Brand Ritz-Carlton partners with the local utility to harness solar power.

Renewable energy integration in the Turks and Caicos Islands is leaping forward with the announcement that FortisTCI and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences have teamed up to install a rooftop solar PV system on the new resort’s casino and restaurant.

The move is part of a program that the utility company hopes will bring the islands closer to the goal of integrating 33% renewable energy by 2040 and is an encouraging move for Caribbean renewable energy as a whole, where the majority of electric power relies on diesel generation.

The luxury-branded development is the 10th renewable energy program customer for the utility firm. The hotel/resort complex is currently under construction on Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, with an expected opening date in 2021.

The installation will be grid-tied and generate 310 megawatt-hours annually, helping avoid approximately 244 tons of CO2 emissions. Customers participating in the program receive a monthly fixed credit for rooftop space and an annual variable incentive based on system production.

Sustainability projects like solar and wind are key to the diversification of energy in Turks and Caicos. FortisTCI has plans to double distributed solar PV generation capacity across the islands.

FortisTCI, with its subsidiary Turks and Caicos Utility, is the sole Turks and Caicos Islands utility company, serving more than 15,000 customers across the Islands. Diesel-fired generators currently supply around 90 megawatts, while grid-tied roof-top distributed solar PV supplies one megawatt of energy.