Belco has invited around 400 of its neighbours to a presentation about the redevelopment of its central plant.The presentation and tour on Saturday is one of a series of events intended to inform the public of the electricity company’s redevelopment plan, which includes both a new diesel plant and an increased focus on renewable energy.The company celebrated the instillation of three new gas turbines at the central plant during a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. The turbines will be featured during the tour.A spokeswoman for the company said: “We are taking neighbours through the central plant so they can see for themselves our new gas turbines, as well as old engines that need to be retired.“We want them to see the entire central plant footprint and see how the plant works. We will also give them a presentation about what we are calling our new energy equation, to explain why we need to redevelop the central plant, and the role that we see for renewable energy and distributed generation.“We sent out approximately 400 invitations. We have not exactly had an overwhelming response thus far, but in the event that some people have had their invitations delivered late and still want a tour, we will schedule another date.”In the next year, Belco hopes to install replacement engines at the central plant in Pembroke and invest in two new substations. The company also plans to make underground cable reinforcements to accommodate distributed generation, including large-scale renewable energy instillations, once sites have been approved by Government.Speaking at yesterday’s ribbon cutting, Environment Minister Walter Roban congratulated Belco for the new turbines. He said that Government would work with Belco over the next few months to make sure the most efficient and effective plans are put in place.“We will work toward incorporating new, greener technologies into Bermuda’s energy mix, while also encouraging consumers to become more energy efficient,” Mr Roban said.Belco believes 20 percent of the Island’s energy will come from renewable resources by 2020, with diesel engines still providing the bulk of electricity.The new turbines will bring 13.4 megawatts of electricity online. Belco president Andrew Parsons said the company still needs to invest in a major redevelopment, and hopes to order a new diesel plant by mid-2011.“In order to have new equipment manufactured and installed, we must place orders this year so that we may continue to reliably meet Bermuda’s continued demand for electricity,” he said.On December 30, the company filed an application with the Department of Planning for the central plant redevelopment, which would replace the existing diesel plant.Meetings with the public, including the one on Saturday, are intended to keep the public informed and educated about the project as it moves forward.Saturday’s tour will be limited to those who live in the area and have been invited. Belco is meeting with Bermuda Environment Sustainablility Taskforce (BEST) and other non-Governmental groups on Friday. Public forums on the subject are planned to take place at Bermuda College before the end of January.The presentation and other information will be placed on the Belco website in the next few weeks, the spokeswoman added.