Storm-Ravaged Caribbean Eyes Solar, But It Won't Be Cheap

摘要

For Caribbean islands plunged into darkness after hurricanes Irma and Maria, small-scale electric systems powered by the sun may be the key to energy resilience. Transforming the grid, though, won't come cheap. FortisTCI Ltd.,-a Turks and Caicos utility-owned by Fortis Inc., reported that Irma destroyed more than 1,200 poles and "critical infrastructure" in its territory. Solar installations across the islands, however, largely stayed intact, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental research nonprofit. That also was the case on Richard Branson's ecker Island.