Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath has confirmed that the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) is not using electricity generated by the country’s largest solar farm, Brechin Castle Solar Ltd, leaving power being produced but not delivered to the national grid.
“It is true that T&TEC has not been absorbing the power coming from this solar plant,” Padarath told Business Guardian. Padarath said the issue stems from decisions made during the project’s planning stages under the previous administration.
“The lack of vision and due diligence from the former administration did not provide for a cost-benefit analysis in terms of how it would impact the operational cost of T&TEC, and therefore right now it is in review between parties, and more will be said about this in the later stages.”
Padarath said he had toured the Brechin Castle facility with Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal several months ago.
“As you will recall, this project was done by the former administration at Brechin Castle, which coincidentally is in my constituency. I have had the opportunity to tour the facility alongside the Minister of Energy a couple of months ago, and it is true that there is no battery backup at this facility for these solar farms.”
Without battery storage, excess electricity cannot be retained when demand is low or when the grid is unable to accept additional renewable generation. Instead, electricity that cannot be exported to the transmission network is effectively lost.
The issue highlights one of the challenges facing renewable energy integration, particularly where electricity systems were originally designed around conventional generation rather than intermittent renewable sources such as solar.
The revelation raises questions about one of T&T’s flagship renewable energy projects, which was expected to supply up to 8 per cent of the country’s electricity while freeing up natural gas for higher-value uses, including exports and the petrochemical sector.
The Brechin Castle Solar Ltd (BCSL) facility, located in the Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo region, is T&T’s first utility-scale solar farm. The company is jointly owned by Shell (35 per cent), bpTT (35 per cent) and the National Gas Company (NGC) (30 per cent). The solar farm is a short distance from the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.
Asked whether the Brechin Castle Solar Farm is currently producing electricity or has effectively become a white elephant, the minister said the facility is not generating power at this time.
“It is not producing any electricity right now. The proper due diligence and compliance with contractual arrangements was not done by the former administration.
They (solar farm) went off our grid at the end of January 2026,” said Padarath.
On July 22, 2025, bpTT announced that Brechin Castle Solar Limited had achieved first electrons, marking the start of electricity generation at the country’s first utility-scale solar facility.
The company said electricity from the southern segment of the solar farm had been successfully delivered to the T&TEC substation at Brechin Castle and had begun supplying cleaner energy into T&T’s electricity network.
The release stated that the first electrons were transmitted on July 17, 2025, with the southern section expected to gradually ramp up production to approximately 40 megawatts (ac) while work continued on the northern segment ahead of full commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Once fully commissioned, the solar farm was expected to deliver up to 92 megawatts (alternating current) into the national electricity grid, making it the largest utility-scale solar farm in the Caribbean.
The project was also expected to provide approximately 8 per cent of T&T’s electricity generation, freeing up natural gas that could instead be directed to petrochemical producers and other downstream industries.
That shift was viewed as an important economic benefit because additional natural gas exports and downstream production have the potential to generate increased foreign exchange earnings for the country while reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation.
The consortium described the project as a significant step toward diversifying T&T’s energy mix while supporting the country’s growing electricity demand.
However a source familar with the project said, “The solar farm was not designed with battery storage, as such any power it produces cannot be stored.”
Sources also indicated that T&TEC is relying on provisions within its contractual arrangements with the project company that allow it to decline taking the electricity being generated.
Business Guardian understands the issue extends beyond simply comparing the cost of solar power with electricity generated from natural gas.
T&TEC currently purchases most of its electricity from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which generate power using natural gas supplied by NGC at a subsidised price. Because of that subsidy, T&TEC pays about $0.05 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity generated from natural gas.
Without the subsidy, the cost of generating that same electricity would rise to about $0.13 per kWh. Electricity from the Brechin Castle Solar Farm would be supplied to T&TEC at roughly $0.09 per kWh. While that makes solar power more expensive than electricity produced using subsidised natural gas, it remains significantly cheaper than electricity generated without the subsidy.
Sources said the project was never intended to provide only the cheapest electricity. It was also designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, diversify T&T’s electricity supply and help the country meet its climate commitments.
Business Guardian was also told NGC’s investment analysis found the project to be financially attractive. The expected Internal Rate of Return (IRR) exceeded the company’s internal hurdle rate after taking into account the additional value of natural gas that would no longer be required for electricity generation.
By replacing some gas-fired electricity with solar generation, less subsidised natural gas would be consumed by the power sector. That gas could instead be redirected to higher-value uses, including the petrochemical industry or export markets, allowing NGC to earn greater revenues while the country simultaneously expanded its renewable energy capacity.
Consortium remains tight-lipped
Business Guardian contacted bp, Shell and NGC seeking comment on why electricity from the project is not being integrated into the grid.
Only bp responded.
“As a matter of policy, bp does not comment on confidential contractual and commercial arrangements relating to the Brechin Castle Solar Farm.”
Shell and NGC did not respond to requests for comment up to publication.
The absence of detailed public explanations leaves unanswered questions surrounding the contractual arrangements between the project company and T&TEC, including the provisions that reportedly allow the utility not to accept electricity generated by the facility.
The situation also raises broader questions over whether additional investment will be required to strengthen the country’s electricity infrastructure or introduce energy storage systems capable of supporting greater renewable energy penetration.
Battery storage has increasingly become a key component of utility-scale solar developments globally because it allows excess daytime generation to be stored and released during periods of peak electricity demand or when solar generation declines.
Without that capability, solar facilities remain dependent on the grid’s ability to immediately absorb all electricity produced.
Project launched in 2023
Construction of the Brechin Castle project officially began on April 12, 2023, when the former government held a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of Trinidad and Tobago’s first utility-scale solar development.
The 112-megawatt alternating current solar development comprises two sites Brechin Castle and Orange Grove and is owned by consortium partners bp Alternative Energy T&T and Shell Renewables Caribbean.
The project was designed to generate approximately 300,000 megawatt-hours of green electricity annually, enough to supply the equivalent of about 42,500 homes while reducing carbon emissions.
Development and construction were managed by Lightsource bp, while Grupotec Servicios Avanzados S.A. was selected as the principal contractor for construction at both sites.
SDV West Indies Limited was appointed to provide the high-voltage connections linking the project to T&TEC’s transmission network.
The project reached final investment decision in December 2022 before construction commenced the following year.
While the infrastructure has now been built and electricity is being generated, the inability to consistently feed that power into the national grid threatens to undermine many of the benefits originally promoted when the project was announced.
In October 2021, then then Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the estimated cost to build the plants in Brechin Castle and Orange Grove was US$100 million.
A source close to the project said that the Brechin Castle Solar Farm was intended to mark the beginning of T&T’s transition toward cleaner electricity generation and to reduce dependence on natural gas for domestic power production. Instead, the project has exposed the operational and contractual challenges that can emerge when renewable generation comes on stream before the supporting grid infrastructure and commercial arrangements.
