BMR Energy committed to green expansion in Cayman

BMR Energy’s CEO Bruce Levy said on Thursday (17 January) the acquisition of the Bodden Town Solar Farm was just the first step in the US-based firm’s plan for renewable energy in Cayman.

The company, part of Sir Richard Branson’s portfolio, had been interested in the Solar Farm since its inception in 2013.

With the approval of CUC’s recent Integrated Research Plan, it more closely allies Cayman’s future with BMR’s expertise.

“Cayman is an island that has announced its plan to move towards a renewable energy supply and we want to be there to help them do that,” Mr. Levy stated.

He added, they were seeking to “take advantage of their focus on renewables to bring our expertise.”

But he stressed there were improvements to be made: The Bodden Town plant was supposed to generate more electricity than it has been.

His teams are looking at how best to optimise output there.

Mr. Levy said they were consulting, too, on how to support further Cayman’s green agenda:

“We have some plans to develop additional solar projects on the island, we think we’ve found some land. But we haven’t confirmed that yet… land is a challenge, it’s such a beautiful place but the land is committed… we’re working hard to find sites similar to this one,” Mr. Levy explained.

He revealed that solar was not the only option on the table:

“We’re studying whether wind has the potential here. Wind is more difficult as it needs more land. Wind turbines have to be separated by a big distance and that’s what takes more land,” Mr. Levy added.

For Cayman Renewable Energy Association President James Whittaker, the time has come to go all in on greener alternatives

“You need scale to make it happen,” he revealed, adding: “that’s part of the challenge right now in Cayman. We have the Solar Farm and panels on roofs, but that’s adding 3-4% of our energy,” Mr. Whittaker detailed.

He stated: “It’s not enough to make a material impact.”

Mr. Levy stressed that Sir Richard Branson was committed to investing in the Caribbean, because these countries put out the least carbon emissions, but are likely to be most impacted from those emissions.