Well, I am back again on the subject of clean renewable energy for Anguilla, but this time there is encouraging news. As reported in The Anguillian of January 29th, David Gumbs (CEO of ANGLEC) and Evan Gumbs (Minister with responsibilities for energy, and an AUM member of the Assembly) attended a meeting in Washington DC which focused on renewable energy through governance and access to financing.
In a press release, David Gumbs expressed his enthusiasm for the meeting and was quoted as saying that "ANGLEC had taken bold steps to transition to renewable sources of energy production", and that "ANGLEC is on track to generate fifty percent of its average running capacity....with its solar PV initiative." This is surely good news although, up until now, there was little to indicate this was happening.
In the same press release, Evan Gumbs said "it was an honor to be included at this prestigious event" and "gain knowledge... to improve our magnificent island's economy and environmental future." He did not say one word, however, about what his views, and those of the AUM, were relative to what David Gumbs had said about ANGLEC's plans for a solar system for the island.
Let us all hope that with a new Assembly and Executive Council, there will be support within the government for a renewable solar system, such as David Gumbs is developing, which will create less reliance on costly oil, create a cleaner environment, and result in savings in the cost of electricity for all customers. Since ANGLEC would realize savings in its operations from such a plan, it should therefore be able to continue to enjoy its profits. With all the sunshine on this island, this should be a "no-brainer".
But, in closing, since solar energy would result in savings on bills to customers, you'd think that candidates for the Assembly, in their campaigns, would pick up on this. But it seems that none of them have.
