Four prisoners receive training in solar photovoltaic installation

Four prisoners and six prison officers at the Belle Isle Correctional Facility have been trained in solar photovoltaic (PV) installation and maintenance. This is according to Superintendent of Prisons Brenton Charles, at the ceremony to launch the Belle Isle Correctional Facility’s solar PV system, on Tuesday, May 2.

The Energy Unit and the Promoting Access to Clean Energy Services in St Vincent and the Grenadines (PACES) project, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Security, Air and Sea Port Development and the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) spearheaded the solar PV installation.

In his opening address director of the Energy Unit Ellsworth Dacon said he was pleased to see another project on the ground. This project, Dacon said, would limit greenhouse gas emissions by use of an indigenous resource.

The 50 kW solar PV System at the Belle Isle Correctional Facility translates to over $30, 000 in savings annually, Dacon said. In total, the PACES project has sponsored 13 Vincentians to become solar PV installers, Dacon disclosed.

Dacon said that public awareness is one of their major challenges his unit faces, adding that more households need to become aware of the benefits of using solar energy.

In the near future, Dacon said that a 200 kW solar PV system would be installed at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) and a 500 kW at the Argyle International Airport.

He hopes that the Grenadines will soon become 100 per cent renewable.