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Becky,
The subject of producing one's own electricity here in Aruba, either by wind or solar, has been discussed on this board several times. My local architect has given me the guidelines and I was ready to install a system that was designed to produce about 90% of the electricity required at my shack.
However, I've learned over the past year or so that things such as this are not always as published. In other words, one person interprets the rules one way while another interprets them a completely different way. Sure, it should be simple but yes doesn't mean yes; it means maybe, maybe not.
I'm not going to send $25K worth of alternative energy equipment to the island, spend my time installing it, only to get nasty letters, threats of grid disconnect, and have to hire a lawyer to reply. It all depends on who you talk to and when you talk to them and then what they tell you may change. That kind of nonsense is for people with more time and money than I have.
Thus, I'm going to liquidate my system components and start over. Oh well. I'm sure the people who create, interpret, and enforce the alternative energy rules in Aruba have their reasons and in their minds, I'm sure they are good ones.
I mean, isn't it better to spend a whole lot of money on oil than to keep it for yourself and make the island an environmentally cleaner place? They certainly think so.
At least you can heat water with the sun without a bureaucrat trying to stick his fingers into the pie. For now. They'll probably find a way to tax, permit, or regulate sunshine any day.
Bon dia.
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