The St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism has announced the opening of a 1.0-megawatt solar powered energy grid. Created to provide operational power to the St. Christopher Air, Sea and Ports Authority (SCASPA), the airport-located solar farm is the most recent green energy partnership between Taiwan and St. Kitts. Other partnership initiatives include solar and LED highway lighting, the installation of solar panels at the island’s government headquarters and the development of an agro-tourism farm.

The solar farm is a joint venture of the Governments of St. Kitts & Nevis and the Republic of China (Taiwan), SCASPA, the Sugar Industry Diversification Fund, and The St. Kitts Electricity Corporation. The US $2.5 million solar farm is expected to save SCASPA more than EC $1 Million in electricity costs annually and pay for itself in about five years.  Built by Taiwanese technology company Speedtech, the solar panels are mounted near ground level at an angle that makes them better able to withstand extreme wind and rain conditions, and their reinforced concrete base is designed to withstand approximately 3,000 pounds of pressure per square inch.  In addition, since the panels are visible to the air, they display the message “Welcome to SKB.”

St. Kitts, a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Early Adopter Program, aims to achieve 60% of energy generation from green energy sources by 2015.