IN RECENT TIMES, it has been challenging to be optimistic about the future of renewable energy in this country. Every developed country has seen the urgent need to move away from fossil fuel sources of energy to generate electricity and have embraced renewable energy.
Barbados has been no different and has made a good start by removing the value added tax and duties on renewable energy systems.
This subsidy got off to a slow start with poor implementation after it was proclaimed and caused a number of companies some difficulty to clear their stock. However, once those hurdles were addressed the sector developed rapidly and a number of new companies were formed. It became clear that the sector needed a comprehensive policy. The Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) was created to provide advocacy on behalf of the sector with the intentions of addressing the many challenges typically faced by a new sector.
To date, progress has been so encouraging that Barbados in now seen as the leader in the region for solar photovoltaic system penetration and Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) has also evolved to a point where it is more supportive of renewable energy generation.
The allocation of the capacity allowed for distributed renewable energy systems has been one of the early stumbling blocks for the new sector.
The growth of the sector was so rapid that the initial quota of seven megawatts (MW) was exceeded quicker than expected. The sector was now employing approximately 500 Barbadians and this challenge was causing some level of uncertainty. BREA met with BL&P to represent the sector and lobbied on behalf of the various companies for an additional allocation of capacity.
At that meeting, the utility company indicated that although it was awaiting the renewable energy penetration study to be completed, it was supportive of increasing the allocation to allow the sector to continue working.
BREA then wrote the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) to request the urgent allocation of additional capacity to be allowed and to the satisfaction of all – the FTC responded favourably to the submission and increased the allocation from seven MW to nine MW.
Months later, a German professor who worked on a 100 per cent renewable energy plan for Germany, introduced the provocative idea of 100 per cent renewable energy for Barbados. Up to that point Barbados’ target was 29 per cent renewable energy by 2029.
The rest of the world had varying targets, but none were considering 100 per cent. In less than a year after that presentation, nearly every developed country has announced a 100 per cent renewable energy road map.
In spite of these positive developments, the sector locally is under threat. It started with the introduction of a new inverter requirement as a result of the BL&P’s intermittent penetration study.
This requirement slowed installations as there has been confusion in the timing of implementation. There was an agreement to allow the companies to use their existing stock before the new requirement became mandatory. However, BL&P has engaged the sector to address the concerns before it escalated.
Criteria
Additionally, the sector continues to be challenged with the introduction of a licence fee for renewable energy systems, which was proclaimed without stakeholder engagement and requires that any residential installation over five kilowatts must pay $250 before they can be connected to the BL&P network.
Then there is a schedule of fees for commercial installations that on the surface, seem very prohibitive for any potential investor. Before we can even debate on the merit or fairness of the licence, the sector was brought to a halt because of the poor implementation strategy. Several companies have been informed that any systems which met the criteria for licensing could not be connected without a licence.
On attempting to pay the licence it was discovered that the process for the administering of the licence was not in place and the licence fee could not be paid. These companies are naturally concerned, as there is no indication as to when this will be resolved.
Then came the Budget reply and news of the incentive allegedly afforded to a foreign company to install a waste to energy plant, a plant with unproven technology that has been widely suggested by a number of credible scientists to have serious environmental concerns.
To the best of my knowledge none of the major stakeholders were engaged on the relative merit of this significant investment by the Government.
This technology is largely experimental with a cost of approximately three to five times more than solar and this does take into account the operating cost of the plant.
It has also been disclosed that there is not enough waste to sustain the plant and there are plans geared towards buying waste, which will surely increase the cost of operation and is simply unsustainable.
With what we already know of the cost of the project, the cost per kilowatt hour is likely to be many times higher than solar or wind generation. So it is naturally difficult to accept the introduction of a licence fee that has put an existing sector with 500 local jobs at risk while hearing about this foreign company being offered many guarantees and concessions for an unproven, potentially environmentally damaging, energy plant.
All the credible 100 per cent renewable energy plans have a percentage of the power generation from biomass. Biomass has an important role to play in the mix of renewable energy sources mainly because it is a firm power source unlike solar and wind.
However, there are two very important reasons for going to renewable energy. One is, that it must reduce the cost of electricity and secondly, it must have a positive impact on the environment.
From all preliminary reports and current research on the technology being used for the waste to energy project, it will not meet either of these basic requirements.
So are we moving forward or backward?
Jerry Franklin is managing director of EnSmart Inc. Franklin is an engineer, energy auditor, equipment tester, and energy solutions provider.
