Energy Minister Discuss New Solar Legislation  

We also spoke with Minister of Energy Michel Chebat, who weighed in on the advantages of the new solar legislation.

 

Michel Chebat, Minister of Energy 

“The new legislation is actually geared at opening up the energy market and the energy sector and it is exactly intended for that so that people who are now using solar panels on their homes, in their businesses, may have an opportunity to sell the excess into the national grid.  So it‘s quite the opposite of the statement.”

 

Reporter

But the new legislation will discourage the uptake of grid tied to solar in Belize.  Your response to that…

 

Michel Chebat

“No, absolutely not.  It is intended to have the excess going to the grid. I think this is, for the first time in Belize, in the history of Belize you see a piece of legislation that is actually opening up the energy sector and I think that is important because it has been dominated so far by BEL.  And so, what this legislation does it really opens up the field for even new power producers.  It opens it up so that people at their homes, individually, people who want to use for their businesses, people who want to use for their industrial sites can now link into the national grid, and so, for the first time in our country we are seeing where the energy market is being opened up to the entire public.”