PRESS RELEASE: 20th JULY 2010 AREO attends key meeting

[Jo-Art]

AREO attends key meeting with Haydn Hughes, Parliamentary Secretary Responsible for Tourism.
As part of an ongoing series of meetings with the Government of Anguilla, Anguilla’s Renewable Energy Coordinator, Beth Barry met with First Nominated Member and Parliamentary Secretary Responsible for Tourism, the Honorable Haydn Hughes to strategize the development of Anguilla’s Renewable Energy resources. As stated in the Manifesto of the Anguilla United Movement, “The AUM government will aggressively seek out alternative energy sources and reduce the cost of electricity to every single household and business”.
During their discussion Mr. Hughes confirmed that the GOA is “100% on board” with moving towards a renewable energy solution. They went on to discuss how “renewable energy will stimulate Anguilla’s economy and create jobs”, how there are opportunities to market Anguilla as a green tourism destination, and concluded that “now is the time to make this happen”. They also discussed an upcoming workshop on Environmental Best Practices for the Tourism Sector which the AREO and AHTA are organizing and which Mr. Hughes fully supports.
Current plans for the island are three-fold. They include a centralized wind farm that will sell electricity directly to Anglec, support of grid-interconnected solar pv systems for homes and businesses and an aggressive energy efficiency program projected to reduce the island’s electricity consumption by an estimated 20% over the next two years.
With support from OTEP, the Overseas Territories Environment Programme, the Anguilla Renewable Energy Office, run by Ms. Barry will work closely with government, especially the Department of Communications, Utilities, Housing, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICUH) and the Ministry of Tourism to achieve substantial progress in renewable energy development and energy conservation.