By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE Brechin Castle Solar Farm expected to represent the country’s largest renewable energy development to date was visited by key government officials and stakeholders.
The visit took place on Wednesday at the Couva project site.
The Brechin Castle Solar Limited is a joint venture of bp, Shell, and a subsidiary of the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago.
Attending the event were Minister of Energy Dr Roodal Moonilal and Minister in the Ministry of Energy Ernesto Kesar, Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath and Minister in the Ministry of Public Utilities Clyde Elder, Housing Minister David Lee other Government officials, invited dignitaries, executives, and representatives from the joint venture shareholders.
A press release from bpTT stated that the event began with a project briefing, detailing the progress made to date on the Brechin Castle facility, followed by a guided bus tour of the solar farm, providing guests with a firsthand view of the installation of thousands of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in place across the site.”
The solar project includes a 92 megawatt (MWac) solar farm split over two sites, totalling 186 hectares and an overhead 2.8km grid connection line to the existing Brechin Castle Substation.
Agreement with the government was reached on December 9, 2022, which enabled consortium partners to reach Final Investment Decision (FID) to commence construction on the project, with bp and Shell initially having joint shareholdings (50/50).
Construction commenced in 2023 and is expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
