Hinds behind solar fountains in Careenage

By Gercine Carter gercinecarter@nationnews.com

The festive lights of Bridgetown keeping the UNESCO World Heritage site aglow with colour this holiday season, are also illuminating the shimmering spray of water spiralling high up in the air, from fountains playing in the inner basin of the Careenage.

It is a new feature that is attracting many people amidst the Christmas hustle and bustle of the city.

The nightly spectacle is largely a demonstration of the solar ingenuity of William Hinds, one of Barbados’ foremost proponents of solar energy. In 2004 he introduced Barbados’ first solar electric vehicle, a solar-powered golf cart, which followed his introduction of Barbados’ first solar-powered bicycle. Next came solar shuttles, the first of their kind in Barbados and the Caribbean, on which tours of Bridgetown were conducted.

Hinds has labelled his latest venture a “Fountain Salute to Barbados.” He has brought reality to his long held vision of “solar fountains revitalising the Constitution River through the use of renewable energy that is efficient and sustainable while increasing the appeal of Bridgetown as an economically viable, aesthetically pleasing heritage site for business and entertainment.”

The solar energy specialist, who in 2004, conceived, designed and built a trident shaped floating fountain that was floated in the Careenage with the assistance of Aquasol Water Heater Company, has now made it possible for Barbadians to experience the delight of six fountains He said from as far back as 2006, he had a vision for fountains in such places as Dolphin and Montefiore (two city fountains) being powered by solar energy. In 2016 he shared his idea with the Ministry of Tourism, while in 2017, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry and David Bynoe of the UNDP-GEF Small Grants Project in Barbados were also approached.

Hinds said while the BCCI did not respond, the response from Bynoe was “almost immediate”. However, since the UN only funded nongovernment organisations (NGOs), he approached Dr Erwin Edwards, the then president of the Barbados Energy Professionals to allow that NGO to develop the project and in 2018 a 70-page proposal was submitted and negotiated.

Edwards and Hinds are cofounders of the NGO, each one with decades of experience and working collaboratively professionally on and off since the 1980s.

Giving the background to the project that has now come to fruition, Hinds said a survey of city businesses and visitors was done in 2018 to gauge long term sustainability of the project and that response was positive.

Meanwhile, Edwards had also informed the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTII) about the original project and that agency offered to expand it from four to six fountains and suggested bigger fountains, an idea embraced by Minister of Maritime Affairs Kirk Humphrey and Minister of Housing, William Duguid. It was agreed to have the fountains in place for November 30, 2021.

Mission accomplished. Hinds and his team were “happy to salute the Government of Barbados on the occasion of transitioning to the republic of Barbados.”

The former Harrisonian is a graduate of the UWI Cave Hill Campus. He was awarded the British Government’s Chevening Scholarship in 1984 and gained a Master of Science degree in alternate energy from the University of Reading, which covers the entire spectrum of alternate energy.

The solar fountains in the inner basin of the Careenage is titled a “Fountain Salute to Barbados.” They were the brainchild of William Hinds and were lit up in time for Barbados’ transition to a republic on November 30 and are now a

nightly feature. (Picture by Sandy Pitt.)

William Hinds was bestowed the Barbados Jubilee Honour for Innovation in 2016.

(Picture by Reco Moore.)