BP, Shell break ground on Trinidad’s first utility-scale solar project

Trinidad and Tobago’s first utility-scale solar project saw a ground-breaking ceremony earlier this week, attended by Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley.

The prime minister was joined by BP executive vice-president of gas and low-carbon energy Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath and president of bpTT David Campbell, among others, for the ceremony at Brechin Castle, one of the two sites of the 148-MWp project.

Read our latest interview with bpTT president David Campbell here.

The development, named Project Lara, is owned by bp Alternative Energy Trinidad and Tobago and Shell Renewables Caribbean, with BP subsidiary Lightsource bp undertaking construction and O&M.

With locations at Brechin Castle (with 122 MWp) and Orange Grove (with 26 MWp), the project is expected to produce enough power for the equivalent of 42,500 homes.

“This is a big deal for Trinidad and Tobago, as the first commercial-scale solar project and the largest in the Caribbean, and it’s great to see the energy transition in Trinidad and Tobago is under way,” bpTT’s Campbell told The Energy Year.