00:00 In response to questions sent by TV6 News about an article by the Express Business that
00:05 the Breckencastle site of Trinidad and Tobago's first industrial-scale solar farm project
00:11 was paused for the past two months after gunmen entered the job site and threatened the workers,
00:18 Energy Minister Stuart Young said he did have conversations with the Minister of National
00:22 Security and persons responsible for security at the site and a number of arrangements have
00:28 been put in place.
00:30 On its website, Light Source BP says the Breckencastle solar farm project is a solar farm under project
00:36 management by Light Source BP on behalf of the project owners Shell, BP and Trinidad
00:42 and Tobago's state-owned national gas company, NGC.
00:47 Energy Minister Young told TV6 News on Wednesday that he was informed by the shareholders of
00:52 this nationally important utility-scale solar project that unfortunately the criminal element
00:59 threatened workers at the site and works had to be temporarily stopped.
01:03 The Energy Minister further said that the government will not tolerate the criminal
01:07 elements negatively affecting this project and arrangements have been made under guidance
01:12 of the Ministry of National Security to facilitate the smooth continuation of the project.
01:18 The Energy Minister told TV6 News that this solar project is the first of its kind of
01:24 this scale and magnitude in Trinidad and Tobago and it is a priority for the government and
01:29 the shareholders and added that work is progressing after what he called the inconvenience caused
01:35 and it is anticipated that project will continue without further disruption.
01:41 In April last year, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley turned the sud at the Breckencastle
01:46 site in Coover for what was originally supposed to be one of the two plants for what was a
01:52 then proposed 112-megawatt solar farm known as Project Lara.
01:59 The Express article on Wednesday recalled that BPTT's president confirmed to Express
02:04 Business in January of this year that construction of the proposed solar farm at Orange Grove
02:10 would not proceed as planned as the cabinet had decided to use the land for another purpose.
02:16 On its website, BP Light Source says the solar project in Coover includes a 92-megawatt solar
02:22 farm split over two sites totalling 186 acres and an overhead 2.8-kilometre grid connection
02:29 line to the existing Breckencastle substation.
02:33 Jule Brown, TV6 News.
02:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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