Barbados has a long and distinguished history in the quest to effectively utilise solar energy on a viable commercial scale. Following on from individual innovation as far back as the 1930s, through valuable research by McGill University in the 1960s, the country’s first company manufacturing solar hot water systems was initiated in the 1970s by Christian Action for Development in the Caribbean. Based in Barbados, Solar Dynamics was launched under the leadership of CEO James Husbands. Over the course of the next 50 years, Solar Dynamics established itself as the #1 manufacturer and supplier of solar hot water systems in the Caribbean, at the same time positioning Barbados as an early global leader in sustainable alternative energy solutions. In October 2024, it was announced that Solar Dynamics had been acquired by Barbadian investor and entrepreneur George Connolly.

George Connolly

Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate to gain invaluable experience in executive positions in a broad range of industries, while working in large-scale jurisdictions and learning from inspirational mentors. Along the way, I generated sufficient personal income to allow me to actively seek potential investment opportunities. My priority was to find a business that I could develop to make a real difference in the world. One of the companies I had been observing was Solar Dynamics. When, by chance, I met James Husbands at an overseas conference we had a meaningful conversation, during which I told him that if he was ever considering selling to call me. Several years later, he did just that and we settled on a deal in May 2023.

At the time, Solar Dynamics was already a strong brand with an excellent track record throughout the region, as well as parts of Africa and the United States. But I thought their product offering was limited, and they could do a lot more in their core business. Also, they were still using very similar technology to how they started 50 years ago. To me, given where we are in the world today with the impact of climate change, it was obvious that the business had enormous untapped potential, especially since the technology will continue improving. My instant vision for Solar Dynamics was to expand both the product selection and sales capacity. We need to develop new systems that can deliver a wider range of sustainable energy solutions. And we need to open up new markets outside the Caribbean, while also increasing penetration in existing markets. The biggest challenge is capacity. The external demand is greater than we can supply, so we are working towards scaling up our production levels to meet that demand in the future.

For sure, we have a number of challenges running a manufacturing business in Barbados, and there are things we could do better as a nation, but the current administration, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mia Mottley, has done a phenomenal job in reinforcing our platform for green energy development. By raising the profile of Barbados in this space, it makes it easier for us to engage with international agencies. Essentially, Barbados is still that little country that punches above its weight in terms of being a voice for change and an innovator in the alternative energy sphere.

I am a proud Barbadian, I love the quality of life we enjoy here, and I don’t want to live anywhere else. But, to contribute to the economic growth and social development of this country to a significant degree, we need to be exporting manufactured goods to international markets. Thankfully, it is possible to run a successful business from Barbados, but then also operate production and supply facilities outside the country as well.

The solar hot water units are still by far our most popular system, so we will continue to focus on that core element of our business, but also gradually launch new products. In particular, I am very excited by the potential of our new eco-friendly, solar-powered air-conditioning units. Even though we are still in the early stages of production, we have already made several significant improvements to the design of the system, including using a modular lithium battery and a smart controller which vastly improves efficiency and sustainability. We are offering solar AC systems at both ends of the scale, with more affordable smaller units for homes, and high-volume, centralized commercial systems for office buildings, hotels and so on.

We also have another new product that I am especially excited about, which is a photovoltaic metal panel that can be used to face the exterior walls of a building. With the entire facade of the building generating solar energy, this will revolutionize how we power our homes and offices. We are now the agents for this product for all of Latin America and the Caribbean. This will go a long way towards achieving my goal of developing major export sales. In simple terms, if we can win just 1% of those markets, that's equal to 500% of what we do here in Barbados. The goal is to continue producing here at maximum capacity until we don't have enough scale, and then we'll build plants in other markets. And that might include Africa, where we already have interest from potential partners in countries like Liberia, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.

At the end of the day, I want to build a business which can produce sustainable applications that add comfort to people's lives. That’s why we want to make our systems as affordable as possible, to empower people.