Energy storage to unlock billions in investment

Barbados is set for a $3.5 billion investment in the renewable energy sector.

Minister of Energy Kerrie Symmonds said on Monday that Cabinet has created a national energy storage policy with the anticipation that storage would be the next frontier in renewable energy investment.

“It is anticipated that energy storage systems will be unlocking $3.5 billion in investment for this country. Government does not contemplate a single storage solution but instead is contemplating several grid-related services,” he announced during the Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) annual general meeting held via Zoom.

“Services which reduce or eliminate the need for energy curtailment will be of the greatest interest to the Government and will also be a type of service that should be of the greatest interest to independent power producers and investors.”

Giving further insight into the policy, the Energy Minister indicated that all applications for large renewable energy supplies, such as five megawatts or ten megawatts of energy generated capacity, would have to include storage systems.

“It is expected that Barbados would have centralised storage operations by the utility provider and also private storage suppliers,” he said.

Symmonds added that Cabinet was of the view that the future of Barbados would see not only distributed storage at the site of large renewable energy generation systems but small storage solutions within households so that consumers would have capacity to store electricity.

Symmonds disclosed that his ministry had so far awarded 4 000 licences, adding that Government had just launched an app to allow householders to fast-track renewable energy applications.

He said the app, which walks applicants through the process, could be found online at apps.energy.gov.bb. (SZB)