by Larry Smith
The Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme is jointly financed by the German
Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ)
and the UN's Global Environment Facility.
In its first phase from
2003 to 2007, the programme worked to remove barriers to the use of renewable
energy in the region, focusing on the improvement of the political, legislative and
technological framework.
As of April, the CREDP will enter its second phase for another four-year period. Energy efficiency measures will be added to the programme's portfolio while energy policy advice and the promotion of renewable energy investments will continue.
A regional energy policy advisor based at Caricom headquarters in Guyana will be appointed to help implement energy sector policies in Caricom states, including the Bahamas.
Most Caribbean countries have no national energy policy and no planning capabilities outside of the utilities. There are no incentives to promote renewable energy and no sanctions to discourage conventional energy.
Renewable energy presently accounts for 3 per cent of energy usage in the region - solar water heaters (mostly in Barbados), a 20 mw wind farm in Jamaica, and hydropower in Jamaica, Belize, Dominica, Suriname and Guyana.
The second phase of the CREDP/GTZ project will strengthen Caricom's new Energy Department, and extend activities to other Caricom states like the Bahamas. Stronger cooperation will also be forged with potential financiers like the Inter-American Development Bank.
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