About Project

On September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane, made landfall on the archipelagic nation of The Bahamas. Primarily impacting the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco. Hurricane Dorian inflicted damages totaling to US$3.4 billion or approximately 3% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Recurrent extreme climatic events such as Hurricane Dorian have impacted and will continue to impact The Bahamas.

The rehabilitation and modernization of the Bahamas’ energy system represents an opportunity to strengthen isolated and interconnected grid networks

with reliant Renewable Energy (RE), designed to withstand the increasing
frequency and severity of extreme weather events. It also presents an opportunity to raise awareness about RE as new energy subsector and creates new employment and economic opportunities that this industry represents for Bahamian citizens.

To respond to the immediate and long-term needs of the country, the Interamerican Development Bank (IADB) activated the Conditional Credit Line for Investment Project (CCLIP)” Advancing Renewable Energy in The Bahamas” (BH-O0006), “Reconstruction with Resilience in the Energy Sector in The Bahamas” (RRESB)(BH-L1048).

Project Objective

The objective of the operations is to advance the installation of RE within The Bahamas, improving the reliability and resilience of the energy system against climate-related natural disasters, while rehabilitating critical infrastructure. More specifically, these operations consist of three (3) components:

Supporting the rehabilitation of the electricity transmission and distribution system, and the installation of the new and resilient RE capacity in Abaco and East Grand Bahama;
Promoting the adoption of solar photovoltaic technologies in the Family Islands;
Contributing to the improvement of the regulatory framework for RE technologies and the mechanisms for its deployment.

Project Description & Location

The objective of the proposed Program is to build resilience in the event of climatic events such as Hurricane Dorian. There are five (5) sites for the project:

Free Town
High Rock
McLean's Town
Sweeting's Cay
Water Cay

Various locations were investigated regarding their suitability for the installation of PV Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The selection was driven by site visits, consultation with the Department of Lands & Surveys and prefeasibility study based on the following criteria:

Land areas that are under public ownership which is a requirement for public funded project;
Sufficient altitude above sea level to prevent flooding during hurricanes;
Proximity to towns;
Suitable road access;
Sufficient distance from wetlands and waterways.