Bluepoint SXM goes green

~ Generating electricity from solar panels ~

PHILIPSBURG--Taking a stand for the environment, Blue Point electronic store has installed the most powerful solar panels so far invented (280 watts per panel). It is the first business on island to go green and use solar energy as an alternative method of generating electricity.

Blue Point has installed a solar system over the past months that produces 17 kilowatts of electricity per hour, based on the quantity of sunlight. Anthony Prall Jr., owner of Caribbean Energy Store, an international company based in Miami, Florida, installed the panels.

Blue Point developed the concept of going green a year and half ago, when it found out about Prall's work on the island. His home in Guana Bay is completely powered by solar and wind energy. Prall is the only person on the island with knowledge, qualifications and factory training concerning solar and wind powered systems.

Prall's main message is that if 75 per cent of local businesses go green over the next couple of years, it would take a considerable load off utility company GEBE's grid during the daytime, when sunlight is at its peak.

"Here in the Caribbean we get the most sun in the entire world. So right now we have between 8.5 and 9.5 hours a day of good, usable sunlight to generate electricity," he noted.

Moreover, Prall explained that making use of solar panels would decrease the amount of carbon being released into our atmosphere. "Blue Point's system at 17 kilowatts per hour saves 1,247 pounds of carbon each day. That's almost a tonne of black dirt taken out of the air that you and I are breathing," he noted.

The system at Blue Point is an off-the-grid system. It has a battery backup, so when the lights go out, you don't notice a blink, Prall said. "You don't have to wait 30 seconds for the generator to come on; in the blink of an eye power is on."

According to Prall, Blue Point is operating between 90 and 100 per cent on solar energy. The panels, shipped from China, took six months to arrive on the island and have a 30- to 40-year warrantee.

When considering investing in solar panels, the first thing Prall advises is to save electricity by installing LED light bulbs. "Conserve, this is one of the easiest things that can be done to reduce electric bills. You can save power, save money and do a good thing for the atmosphere. Going green, it makes sense," said Prall.

The LED light bulbs used at Blue Point were ordered from China and use less than 10 per cent of the amount of electricity other light bulbs use. Although costly, the bulbs last 25 years. They don't use a lot of power and do not create a lot of heat.

Prall said that if Blue Point's average electric bill was US $4,000, its bill would be reduced to about $800 by putting in LED light bulbs. Going green with the solar panels will knock its bill down to about $100 to $200 a month.

Blue Point's plan is to add a few more panels over the next few months, so it will be 100 per cent independent of GEBE. Although its solar panels are installed on an off-the-grid system, Blue Point is still connected to GEBE. On cloudy days Blue Point is still dependent on GEBE. However, when the sun is shining the meter is stopped.

Prall noted that installing a tracking system to track the sun could almost double the power and was most advisable. "The panels rotate, capturing 98 per cent of the peak power by tracking the sun all day long," he explained.

According to Prall, installations vary in cost. The solar panels are mounted on an angle on the roof, so the wind can't take them away. They must face south, cannot have any obstructions such as trees or neighbouring buildings. An inverter bolts onto the wall in a place that is high and dry, and is connected to the solar panels.

The panels only receive peak power for maybe one or two hours a day. "After and before that it is higher or lower by just a little bit. But when you are trying to get rid of the electricity bill, a little bit can mean a lot," Prall said.

Blue Point Manager Naresh Vaswani said his establishment was not inventing the wheel, "We are just putting it to use." He said it had become evident that there was no consistency in GEBE's supply of power to the island. "We are all victims of that right now," he said.

Therefore, considering the fact that he cannot do business as an electronic store without power, it was necessary to consider alternatives. "No power six to eight hours reflects on your revenue. Also what can be better than creating power out of natural resources?" Vaswani noted.

As a supporter of combating global warming he noted that Blue Point had installed LED light bulbs and its solar panels as a tryout, with the intention to eventually make the purchase of LED light bulbs and solar panels available in its store. He said the business also intended to rid of plastics by distributing more environmentally-friendly bags to customers.

Prall noted that several other businesses were interested in going green through the installation of solar panels.

"It's exciting to see the technologies out there and see them coming to St. Maarten," he said. "If you take the sun, which hits the entire 37 square miles of St. Maarten, and you were to cover all the dirt with solar panels, you would have enough power to power the entire island for a whole year just with one day's worth of sun. That's an intriguing factor."