The future of Bermuda?s electrical supply could be 500 foot helium balloons anchored off Bermuda?s coast.

And Bermuda?s only electricity supplier, the Bermuda Electric Light Company (Belco) has already held talks with the designer of the futuristic Magenn Power Air Rotor System (MARS) designed by friend of Bermuda, Fred Ferguson.

?I would like to see a demonstration in Bermuda in the latter part of 2006,? the Magenn Power Inc. founder and acting chairman said yesterday. ?Belco are looking into sources of alternate energy. But Belco is not involved with prototype development. Belco (could) get involved when it is time to buy things.?

Mr. Ferguson confirmed that he had a meeting with Belco in August.

?We will be in a position to test in less than one year,? he said. ?It will not be a huge prototype. It will be around 40 feet wide.?

But he added that a full-size Air Rotor System could be as large as 400 to 500 feet ? or around the size of the Goodyear blimp. MARS are filled with helium that keeps them above the water.

?There is not much chance of them falling into the water,? he said. ?Globally, the plan is to see them built large enough to produce one to five Megawatts of power per unit.?

In context, in 2005 Belco installed two brand new 14.5 Megawatt diesel engines (E7 and E8) at a cost of $45 million.

Mr. Furguson said all of the components of the Air Rotors were tested and ready for production, however, a very large MARS would not be around for a few years. ?Basically the meeting was set up by Carlos Bosch, a retired president of Bacardi International,? Mr. Ferguson said. ?Carlos was involved in forward-looking aspects of technology I have been involved with for the last 25 years.?

Mr. Ferguson said MARS grew from his futuristic helium airships of which the Smithsonian Institute requested the prototype and that won the Canadian Government Award of Excellence in 1984 and the Philip Petroleum Award for Science in 1985.

?Typically a wind turbine has to be situated on a tower 300 feet high at most,? he said. ?In Bermuda, wind turbines need nonturbulent air off the ocean. To set up the turbines they will have to be put in the same locations as high priced real estate.?

The advantage of his balloons was that it could be operated virtually anywhere off shore, tied up to barges or buoys, he said.

?They will be anchored beyond the horizon and out of sight and provide power to shore for distribution,? he said. ?Bermuda is a good example of one of those spots that cares very much about not destroying its beautiful look and not messing up very high priced real estate.?

Belco was faced with using fossil fuels to create electricity for its customers, he said, however, using oil drove the price of electricity higher.

Mr. Furguson added that he was looking for a ?financial guru? to steer the company.