ORANJESTAD, ARUBA – June 10th, 2013: Today, Aruba’s Prime Minister Mike G. Eman, Minister of Finance, Mike de Meza, and Mr. Frank Hoevertsz, the Managing-Director of Utilities Aruba N.V. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BYD Company Limited, BYD America’s President, Ms. Stella Li. The MOU outlines Aruba’s plans to be the first Nation with a completely zero-carbon footprint and energy independence (with only clean sustainable renewable power sources). The four major objectives in the MOU included electrifying all public transportation (with zeroemissions vehicles), substantially increasing renewable energy generation (both solar and wind), making those resource dispatchable upon demand with distributed environmentally-friendly energy storage, and, lastly, a nation-wide plan for public re-education and sustainability programs in all schools. Through each of these, Aruba plans to use BYD green-technologies to pursue its goal of becoming an emissions-free Nation by the year 2020.

Photo courtesy of BYD

Prime Minister Eman welcomed Stella Li to beautiful Aruba and led the ceremony by stating, “We are excited about the MOU we are signing. This document signifies both parties interests and commitment to work together to introduce electric vehicles and green products in Aruba. In our transition phase towards 100% sustainability, BYD will support Aruba demonstrating how to convert all our vehicles, including cars, buses, taxis and all private and public vehicles into electrified transportation”. The first and most important of all these initiatives is the electrification of public transportation. Aruba plans to place into service four BYD zero-emission, long-range all-electric buses and one BYD e6 electric taxi comprising a fleet for public/government use by September-end 2013.

Energy generation and storage are the next areas of development that Aruba has committed to pursuing. The nation has plans to double their wind farms and make these farms self-sustaining and dispatchable using BYD’s Iron-Phosphate grid-scale storage technologies. Leveraging these same battery Energy Storage Stations, they will also deploy new, large scale stand-alone BYD Solar generation projects throughout the island. Ms. Li remarked that, “BYD Company was completely impressed by the vision of the government leaders of Aruba and fully supported Aruba becoming the first completely sustainable Nation in the World.”

The third objective in Aruba’s plan uses BYD LED technology to reduce electricity consumption and build up vital communities through education and infrastructural improvements. Aruba will convert much of their public lighting to high-efficiency BYD LED Street and Indoor Lighting Solutions. Further, there are plans to electrify all of its schools using rooftop solar installations and build education programs around sustainability programs.

The nation intends to use BYD solar generation, external and internal LED lighting systems, and electric vehicles to develop its “smart community” project in Kibaima. The Kibaima project, conceived in 2012, has operated as an exemplar and “laboratory” for sustainability ventures throughout the nation. Minister de Meza elaborated on the prime minister’s comments by stating that, “Aruba is honored to work together with BYD. In the light of BYD’s broad portfolio of green technologies, especially in renewable energy and storage, Aruba is very happy to partner with you. We have a vision and a plan to have 100% sustainable energy by 2020. There are only seven years left.” Minister de Meza also explained to Mrs. Li that “Aruba is already working with renowned institutions like the Carbon War Room, TNO, among others. But with today’s MOU, BYD has become part of the Aruba green family”. Ms. Li told the prime ministers Eman and de Meza that “they both have amazing visions for their country and BYD has the technology to help them realize their dreams — we are one of the largest solar panel providers in the world with ample experience and we are the largest environmentally-friendly, energy storage provider in the world!” In reaching each of these goals, Aruba aims to lead the world in carbon footprint reductions and be a catalyst and example to the other Caribbean and Latin American Nations. For more information, visit BYD at www.facebook.com/bydcompany and www.byd.com.

This article is a repost, credit: BYD, http://www.byd.com/na/news/news-164.html.

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