Renewable Energy Sector Development in the Caribbean: Current ...

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Figure 3 Sensitivity of PV LCOE to Installation CostCountryTechnologyProjectSize (MW)AnnualGeneration(GWh/yr)Current GenerationCO2 Intensity (kgCO2/kWh)Total AnnualCO2 Savings('000 MT/yr)Jamaica Wind 38.70 115 0.944 120N. Antilles Wind 39.00 132 0.944 125Grenada Photovoltaics 0.12 0.237 0.66 0.16Barbados SWH 185.5 1.106 200Table 3 Green House Gas Emissions SavingsEnergyTechnologyWindWindProjectWigton WindFarmNu Capital,CuracaoSource of NumbersProject sizeEquipmentLifetime (years)Employment ComponentsCIM(jobs/MWinstalled)O&M(jobs/MWactual)CapFactor20.7 MW 25 3.88 0.59 0.3412MW 25 1.50 1.43 0.35Wind NuCapital, Aruba 30MW 25 1.50 0.85 0.47AVG(personyears/GWh)Solar PV Grensol Ltd 65KW 25 0.00 30.77 0.22 16.190.17SWHSolar DynamicsLtd140,000 MWhsaved20 0.59 0.22 0.31Table 4 Estimates of Direct Employment BenefitsThe spread of photovoltaics in Grenada has lead to 16.19 person-years/GWh (although this islikely to decrease in the near future as the number of installations increases) and a total annualsavings of 160 tonnes CO 2 . Most impressive are the indirect impacts of energy efficiencytechnology in Barbados where the high penetration of SWH has led to a savings of 185GWh/year and a total savings of 200,000 tonnes CO 2 /year. Wigton is the first Caribbeanrenewable energy project to capitalize on these impacts through registering with the CDM butthere is clearly potential for other technologies to pursue a similar route.12
As can be seen from these case studies there are a number of successful wind, solar and solarthermal projects that have been deployed in the region within recent times. There are othernotable wind projects that have been developed in islands such as Guadeloupe. Photovoltaicshave been introduced in St. Lucia and St. Vincent. Geothermal energy is also proving successfulin Dominica, St. Lucia and Guadeloupe as a base load substitute for fossil fuels.4. DISCUSSION AND CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHTS4.1. Lessons from Island Case StudiesIn this analysis we have explored the history of energy policy and the cost effective nature ofrenewable energy technology in the Caribbean (see Table 10). We did not perform acomprehensive survey of all islands where renewable energy has been deployed but insteadprovide a sense of the variation that exists. Even though such a small region, there are significantdifferences among islands in the scale of industry, the type of utility ownership, the level ofregulation and legislation as well as the degree of government involvement in the sector. Each ofthese issues presents a separate set of considerations that should be addressed in creating anenabling environment for renewables. Different levels of power sector development might makecentralized policy planning difficult otherwise. History has shown that socio-technical transitionstake time and involve systemic changes. Because infrastructure favours the currently dominantfuels, renewable energy deployment will be most effective in a more flexible environment. Anenabling environment for renewable energy involves policy that addresses a number of domainswith different configurations of interaction depending on country context (Mitchell, et al., 2011).In the case of Grenada we observe that GRENLEC is a predominantly foreign owned andprivatized company. WRB enterprises, owns majority shares in a number of other US andCaribbean utility companies (bNET, 2004). This historical lack of experience with renewabletechnologies couples with GRENLEC’s sole supplier status an absence of utility regulation. Thisenvironment constrains the introduction of new technologies and the potential growth of newindustry. Moves to create a regional regulatory authority are promising.In Barbados we note the number of experiments with renewable energy that the state controlledutility has made thus far. While few of these projects have come to fruition in a major way, thetendency highlights utility, and by extension, government interest in energy security and powersector functionality. However this intention is not supported by significant legislative andcomprehensive policy backing. This may be part of the reason that, aside from Solar WaterHeating technology, it has actually been difficult to integrate other technologies into the market.It would seem that while the necessary components are present, there needs to be a morestructured plan in the near and long term future and greater consistency in the delivering ofincentives such as the tax credit. Strides are indeed being made, but a more concrete structureand outlined plan of action and implementation would ensure that the more useful avenues forenergy mix expansion are explored.13
Page 1 and 2: Renewable Energy Sector Development
Page 3 and 4: GRENADA BARBADOS JAMAICA ARUBA CURA
Page 5 and 6: 2.2. Solar Water Heating in Barbado
Page 7 and 8: keeping with the provisions of the
Page 9 and 10: Wind energy took longer to develop
Page 11: The LCOE of wind energy in Jamaica
Page 15 and 16: interest and to market the Jamaican
Page 17 and 18: Barbados, with a regulatory structu
Page 19: purchased so that $6.17/W installed

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