Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

American Eagle at Nevis Airport
Photo courtesy of Nevis1.com

Charlestown, Nevis
March 31, 2011

In just six days, the American-based airline, American Eagle, will operate under a new schedule between the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport on San Juan [SJU] and the Vance W. Amory International Airport on Nevis [NEV].

Effective April 6, 2011, the aircraft would depart SJU at 1:45 pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and NEV at 3:25 pm on the same days.

During a recent interview with the Department of Information, Chief Executive Officer at the Nevis Tourism Authority Mr. John Hanley spoke of the significance of the extended schedule to Nevis’ economy.

“This is very welcomed news because American Eagle is one of our main airlines that brings connection to North America”.

“Of course the more visitors we have, the more expenditure we would have. Everyone knows that tourism is the lifeblood of the economy so we have a critical role at the Nevis Tourism Authority,” Mr. Hanley said.

While it was rumoured that American Eagle would have discontinued its flights to Nevis, “negotiations by the island’s top tourism officials proved to be instrumental.”

Although proud of the extended flight service, CEO Hanley said plans were being made to “improve the links with other airlines,” adding that “the tourism industry looks very positive and optimistic.”

“Winair has been a good partner to us and we are engaged in some negotiations which you would see hopefully some improved business and there’s another airline that we are planning to woo to Nevis,” he said.

In addition to improving airline links, Nevis’ tourism officials have enhanced the island’s marketing initiatives “to encourage as many persons to bring high yield to the economy of Nevis.”

This, according to CEO Hanley, is evident in the “increased bookings at the hotels, additional jobs for taxi drivers and feedback from the recently attended shows in the United Kingdom and United States.”

“We were represented by one of the former CEOs of the Tourism Authority, Helen Kidd, and she reported that there is strong interest in the market.

“People are really interested in coming to Nevis so we at the Tourism Authority are doing our best to get the word around and to facilitate those persons who want to come to the destination,” Mr. Hanley explained.

Among the travel shows that featured Nevis were the Boston Globe and New York Times shows and a bridal show in Puerto Rico.

Related posts:

1. Nevis Flights via American Airlines Eagle To Resume
2. American Eagle Flights To Nevis Still At Reduced Frequency
3. American Eagle Makes Emergency Landing In St. Kitts
4. Nevis Airport Re-opens To American Eagle Flights
5. American Airlines To Resume Daily Nevis Flights

St. Kitts Windfarm Developer – Mark Tippit

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
March 31, 2011 (SKNIS)

Developer of the wind farm project, Mark Tippit, has assured residents of Belle Vue that the placement of the wind turbines in their community will bring several benefits.

At a recent Community Meeting, Mr. Tippit, Founder and President of North Star, stated that once the construction phase of the project commenced the residents of Belle Vue and the surrounding community would be given first preference when it came to employment.  The groundbreaking is estimated to take place in July or August of this year.  The Founder of North Star said that another more long-term source of income could be connected with the fact that the wind turbines serve as a tourist attraction.  He suggested that the community’s entrepreneurs begin to look at opportunities within this specific avenue of eco-tourism.

Residents were further reassured that the livestock farming which had been originally intended for the area, could continue as planned.  The North Star President explained that the wind farm has a very small land footprint and it requires only five acres of land.  Additionally, he explained that once the foundations of the three turbines are fenced, animals will be allowed to graze freely right under the turbines.  It was noted that the turbines would be Vestas Wind Systems-manufactured V100s, each having a rotor diameter of 100 metres.

Additional aspects which Mr. Tippit said should benefit the Federation as a whole included a reduction in the use of fossil fuel-generated energy, electricity engineering grid upgrades and lower carbon emissions.  He explained that lower cabon emissions will allow the Federation to apply for carbon credits from the international body that addresses such matters.  A monetary value is attached to such credits.  Under the current agreement, the Federation is entitled to half of the money obtained from the carbon credits, President Tippit explained.

Noise created by the turbines was one of the concerns addressed.
 
“One of the things is that we’re fortunate, that we were able to locate the turbines fairly far up the slope, so they will be fairly far away from housing areas,” Mr. Tippit said.  “Other physical effects is that the majority of noise tends to be produced behind the turbines and because ours are pointing into the prevailing wind, the backs will be pointed toward that mountain.  Literally, the noise tends to blow in a cone behind the turbine so the majority of the sound will be going into the mountain.”

Another physical effect mentioned was flicker, which Mr. Tippit described as the flashing light that can be created as the sun hits the spinning turbines at a certain angle.  He explained that this also should not affect the residents of Belle Vue.

The North Star Founder took the opportunity to explain a bit about his organization.

“North Star is a development Company working in partnership with Mass Energy out of Florida which undertakes debt financing and equity financing,”  Mr Tippit explained.  “Manitoba Wind Energy Consulting and Contracting is an engineering firm out of Florida who did the analysis and engineering for the project.  The contractor for the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) of the project is Manitoba Hydro out of Canada.”

The North Star Founder informed that this contractor was chosen because Manitoba, Canada has many small towns with electrical grids similar to the one in St. Kitts.  Additionally, he elaborated, these Canadian towns have a public utilities requirement to integrate wind, solar power and any other form of renewable energy that a private developer would want to bring onto the grid.

Other presenters at the Community Meeting were Constituency Representative for the area Honourable Dr. Timothy Harris, Director of Physical Planning and Environment Mr, Randolph Edmeade, and Acting General Manager of the Electricity Department Mr. Bertill Browne.

Related posts:

1. St. Kitts – Nevis Wind Farm Project Is Progressing Nicely
2. Nevis Electricity Official Confirms Wind Power Benefits
3. North Star To Supply 8 Megawatts Of Wind Power Electricity
4. Nevis Wind Energy Farm Enters Testing Phase
5. Nevis Renewable Energy Minister Thankful For Wind Farm

Wind Turbines To Provide Green Energy

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
March 31, 2011 (SKNIS)

Approximately 10 to 15 percent of the overall capacity of the National Grid will be supplied by wind energy upon the completion of Phase I of the North Star Project at Belle Vue, St. Kitts.

This is according to Mark Tippit, Founder and President of North Star, a US-based real estate and renewable energy company, which also operates in the Caribbean and Central America.  He outlined that closer to 10 percent will be supplied at night when there is a decrease in demand for power, since most people are sleeping.  On the other hand, closer to 15 percent will be provided during the day when persons are busy with domestic and business pursuits.  The mentioned energy will be generated by three 1.8 megawatt wind turbines (wind mills) which are being manufactured by Vestas Wind Systems out of Denmark.  President Tippit said that the three turbines will produce 5.4 megawatts of power but the constant average supply will be 2.7 megawatts.  He said that this will power 3,000 homes.

Mr. Bertill Browne, Acting General Manager of the Electricity Department stressed that the ultimate objective for incorporating the use of wind-powered energy was efficiency.

“The main aim is to reduce the cost of generating electricity,” Mr. Brown said.  “Reduce diesel imports and add a greener generation of electricity.”

The Acting General Manager also explained that while the electricity generated could supply 3,000 homes, it would not be specific dwellings but rather this energy would go directly to the national grid and be dispersed accordingly.

Honourable Dr. Timothy Harris, Senior Minister and Parliamentary Representative for the area, agreed with the reduced electricity generation cost objective and noted that St. Kitts and Nevis was among many other countries doing likewise.  He commended North Star and its founder Mark Tippit and assured his constituents, who attended last Friday’s meeting at the Edgar T. Morris Primary School, that the 500 acres on the site would be used for its original purpose of livestock farming.

“After some representation and field visits, we were able to sort out the matter,” Minister Harris emphasized.  “It is my understanding, that substantially all the land now remains available for agricultural purposes.”

Mr. Randolph Edmeade, Director of Physical Planning and Environment, noted that it was after careful investigations of other methods of renewable energy that the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis decided on wind energy after reviewing reports from the Renewable Energy Committee.  He detailed that the experimental tower placed at Belle Vue had such pleasing results that it was decided to construct the three turbines in Phase I of the project, on that site.

President Tippit explained that once the three turbines were delivered on time and there were not too many unexpected challenges, the groundbreaking for Phase I of the North Star Project would take place in July or August, 2011.

Related posts:

1. Nevis Government Praised For Wind Farm Project
2. Nevis Renewable Energy Minister Thankful For Wind Farm
3. Nevis Wind Farm Breaks Barriers In Renewable Energy
4. Love Of Nevis Brings Wind Farm To Island
5. North Star To Supply 8 Megawatts Of Wind Power Electricity