Electricity
WEB is the distributor of electricity on Bonaire. We are responsible for the electricity grid and the supply of electricity to households and businesses. Together with parties from the Netherlands, the US and the region we are working on an energy transition necessary for a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy supply.
Sustainable production
Energy producer ContourGlobal generates energy on Bonaire from wind energy, solar energy and fossil fuel. Nature is our greatest possession. By using wind and solar energy, we burden our nature less. We also become less dependent on fossil fuel.
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Optimal energy mix
The energy mix with which energy is being generated at this moment on Bonaire consists of: a hybrid plant at Karpata, a diesel power plant at Barcadera, wind turbines at Morotin and Sorobon and solar panels at Barcadera.
The objective is to increase the rate of sustainable energy from 22 percent at this moment to 60 percent in 2025. Therefore the electricity producer ContourGlobal and WEB will realize expansion of the central solar park at Karpata and the wind farm.
Companies and individuals on Bonaire can also install solar panels decentrally for their own use.
Renewable energy
The wind makes the wind turbines run as a result of which energy is generated. The sunlight delivers energy which is converted into electricity in the solar panels. The wind and the sun are natural sources of energy that can be infinitely available. They do not become exhausted, contrary to fossil fuels. Furthermore, they do no cause CO2 emissions. This makes them very appropriate to generate energy without further global warming.
However, we should always take into account that wind and solar energy are unstable. Whenever there is less wind, there is less wind energy. At night there is no sun and during energy generation in day time there may be clouds, causing less solar energy.
In 2019 the power plant at Karpata was equipped with an advanced energy storage system. This makes the use of more renewable energy possible.
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels – oil, gas, shale gas, coal – harm the environment by CO2 emissions. They are not renewable and their availability is finite. But a considerable advantage of fossil fuels is that they are stable sources of energy.
The amount of diesel fuel that is required for a certain amount of electricity can be calculated fairly accurate. Unlike with wind and sun you know exactly what you get. Fossil fuels cannot yet be missed in the energy mix for sustainable, reliable and affordable electricity on Bonaire.
Partners
The American company Contour Global is the energy producer on Bonaire, with production facilities at Karpata and Barcadera and at Morotin. At Barcadera WEB accommodates the pilot AlgaeParc of Wageningen University & Research. Here research is being done on the cultivation of algae for nutrients and for biofuel. WEB collaborates closely with the Dutch network operator Stedin, that shares its knowledge and expertise to optimize the electricity grid on Bonaire.
Projects
WEB invests in a modern and robust electricity grid that is ready for new developments: from the natural instability of wind and solar energy to the technical requirements and laws and regulations. So that also in the future we can meet the energy needs of inhabitants, visitors, businesses and institutions on our island.
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New energy storage system for Bonaire
March 2019
The power plant at Karpata is equipped with an advanced energy storage system. It guarantees the reliability of the energy supply and makes generation of more renewable energy possible.
The hybrid 6 Mega Watt (MW) storage of energy project is an integrated system. It contains hardware, consisting of batteries and converters, and GEMS, energy management software of Greensmith Energy, a company of Wärtsilä.
More renewable energy
Because of the energy storage the use of renewable energy on Bonaire can grow. The system integrates renewable energy – and the unstable nature thereof – better in the energy mix. With this the reliability of the network on our island is better guaranteed.
ContourGlobal, the producer of electricity on Bonaire, in 2019 expanded the production capacity of the plant at Karpata.
Collaboration
The hybrid energy storage project has been realized after an intensive technical evaluation and procurement process of ContourGlobal and WEB in 2018.
WEB and ContourGlobal continue their joint efforts. Consequently, ContourGlobal will install additional wind and solar energy generation to generate 100 percent renewable energy on certain parts of the day.
Expansion capacity plant Karpata
2019
In the middle of 2019 the power plant at Karpata has been expanded with five new diesel generators. Because of this capacity expansion a temporal supply with modular power generators near the urban residential district Hato could be dismantled after three years.
First three new HFO-diesel generators at Karpata were started in a test setup, with a joint operational capacity of 6 MW. After successful tests two additional generators have been installed. Each generator is accommodated in a 40 ft container and is protected against environmental influences.
Hybrid power plant
The plant at Karpata is hybrid, that means: it operates on both fossil fuels as renewable energy. Due to the expansion a substantial power supply is being generated with diesel generators (22 MW), wind turbines (11 MW) and solar energy batteries (6 MW). It is completely controlled by an advanced energy management system.
The expansion is part of the continuous efforts of ContourGlobal Bonaire and WEB to provide a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy supply for Bonaire and its economy.
Collaboration
The capacity expansion of the plant has been realized after an intensive technical evaluation and procurement process of ContourGlobal and WEB in 2018.
WEB and ContourGlobal continue their joint efforts. Consequently, ContourGlobal will install additional wind and solar energy generation to generate 100 percent renewable energy on certain parts of the day.
