People considering adopting renewable energy now have another reason to do so.

Belco's Interconnection Policy, initially announced last year, officially came into effect this week allowing members of the public with renewable energy systems to put excess power into the electrical grid and get paid for it.

"The policy enables residential customers to feed excess power to Belco's grid at the same rate that they pay for power," a Belco spokesperson said.

"Belco's policy is intended to encourage the adoption of renewable technology. Initially, interconnection will be available to the first 200 qualified residential customer, upon request and on a first come, first served basis."

When announced last December, Belco said that it would initially limit the number of customers involved in the programme to 750, but the spokesperson said yesterday that less than 20 residential customers with solar or wind generators have expressed an interest.

In order to qualify, you must have a renewable energy system that does not exceed 15 kilowatts. They must also achieve other technical requirements, in addition to having planning permission and any licensing required by the Ministry of the Environment, Planning, and Infrastructure Strategy.

Belco President Andrew Parsons said: "We are just seeing the start of alternative energy in Bermuda, but we are planning for an energy future that includes small and large scale renewable energy generation."

Kevon Makell, Vice President and General Manager of Belco's sister company PureNERGY Renewables, expressed hope that the move would encourage more people to make the jump to renewable energy.

"As a Bermudian company specialising in solar and wind technologies, we couldn't be happier with this development," he said. "We believe this will enhance small-scale renewable energy in Bermuda."