Publication: Sunday Sun Paper Section And Page: 5A Paper Date: Sun, Dec 17, 2001 Byline: Terry Ally
Minister with responsibility for Energy Reginald Farley is disappointed that Barbados has not exported its solar energy technology better. He said while Government was happy with renewable energy products like solar water heaters he was concerned that the local inventors did not develop other solar energy products on a similar scale as the heaters.
He said that there were many places with just as many sunshine days as Barbados that were potential markets for Barbadian solar water heaters which he thought local entrepreneurs should have pursued.
"If the United States has as much sunshine as we do, you could bet that there would be solar water heaters all over the world by now . . . but they might still catch on," he said at the launch of the first of an environmental education adventure series.
Written for children, by alternate energy consultant William Hinds, the first issue Garden Adventure How A Solar Water Heater Works breaks down all the complex science and physics of solar energy into simple-to-understand language. Farley lauded the effort and said that the Caribbean was not publishing enough but he understood that high cost was a reason. Speaking to an audience which included students from the Erdiston Primary School which was presented with 40 books, he urged them not to let the small size of Barbados or limited markets in the region be a deterrent but to set their sights high and dare to dream because as future leaders they could develop home-grown solutions to local problem He also said they should not be afraid to put their dreams into print. He recalled that the first shuttle and a television the size of a wrist watch that he saw were in Dick Tracy comics in the 1970s and they have become reality today. He also urged Hinds to market his book in and outside of the Caribbean.
Hinds said that the book was available in
bookstores in Barbados and would also be sold by parent-teacher
associations, environmental and youth groups for a commission. He was also
having talks on a co-publishing arrangement with the Caribbean Energy
Information Services (CEIS) in Jamaica to have it published in Ghana and
South Africa as well as having it distributed in the 15-member states of
the CEIS. It is also being translated into Spanish. An adult version of
the book will be available in six months and the manuscript for the next
in the children's series, about windmill and wind energy, has been
completed. The book was part-funded by Aqua Sol Components Limited, a
company which produces solar water heaters.