Dec 10, 2014 (Bloomberg) – The Bahamas plans to cut fuel imports by as much as 5 percent by building several small solar panel fields after signing on to billionaire Richard Branson’s Caribbean clean energy initiative.

The solar fields, which will generate as much as 20 megawatts of electricity for the Bahamas’ sparsely populated Family Islands, are part of the government’s plan to move toward renewable energy under Virgin Group founder Branson’s Ten Island Challenge.

“The economics make complete sense,” said Justin Locke, director of islands at Carbon War Room, the Branson-funded organization overseeing the Ten Island Challenge. “You can significantly reduce the cost of electricity generation, harness natural resources, and retrain people” to work in the industry, he added.

This is an excerpt from Bloomberg.com as it appeared on December 10, 2014. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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