St. Kitts’ First Utility-Scale Solar PV Farm

The St Christopher Air, Sea and Ports Authority (SCASPA) solar farm is a 1.0 megawatt (MW) farm on the beautiful Island of St.Kitts. This farm, which is located just north of the runway at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport, consist of approximately 3,500 photovoltaic panels that generates more than ample electricity for SCASPA operations, with excess energy fed into the island’s public electrical grid.

The SCASPA solar farm is a joint venture of the governments of St Kitts and Nevis and Repubic of China (Taiwan), SCASPA, the Sugar Industry Diversification Fund (SIDF), and the St Kitts Electricity Corporation (SKELEC). The US $2.5 million farm was commissioned in late 2013 at which time was estimated to save SCASPA more than EC$1 million in electricity costs annually and if such pays for itself by 2018.

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.” SKB is the booking (sabre) code for the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.