BCCI renews commitment to renewable drive

by Marlon Madden

The Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), through its Green Committee, is pledging continued support to the island’s efforts towards becoming 100 per cent reliant on renewable forms of energy by 2030.

Andy Armstrong, Chairman of the BCCI Green Committee, renewed this commitment on Tuesday, as he indicated that the BCCI has been working in the background to help push the clean energy agenda.

Indicating that the BCCI fully supported the goal of making Barbados 100 per cent reliant on renewable energy sources by 2030, Armstrong said “the BCCI sits on a number of committees that are steering Barbados towards this goal – committees that look at renewable energy and everything that is needed to make it easier and more efficient for investors to put money into renewable energy, committees that explore how we can accelerate a transitio
to electric vehicles and committees that look at how we can unlock more investment.”

Armstrong was addressing an award ceremony for five clean energy start-up firms at the Bagnall’s Point Gallery on Tuesday, following their completion of required course and business plans under the Bloom Cleantech Incubation Programme.

He said the BCCI Green Committee submitted a 20-page document to the Ministry of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneur last week, with comments on the draft Power Purchase Agreement for renewable energy systems greater than 10 megawatts.

Opting not to disclose what those comments were, Armstrong added: “This week we will submit a similar one to the Fair Trading Commission on the draft Power Purchase Agreement for renewable energy systems from 1 megawatt to 10 megawatts”.

The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) is currently engaged in a public consultation on the feed-in-tariff power purchase agreement.

Individuals and companies hoping to comment on the proposed template power purchase agreement to be used by independent power producers who participate in the FTC’s feed in tariff programme for renewable energy systems above 1MW and up to 10MW have until Friday, January 14, 2022 to submit those comments.

Armstrong said the BCCI will continue to add its voice to the issue of sustainability and the green economy, noting that this has been a primary focus for the Chamber since it formed its first green committee in 2010.

“The BCCI was one of the first to lobby politicians and the public to take climate change seriously. We were the driver in persuading the Social Partnership – the forum for government, labour and employers – to write a commitment to greening Barbados into the most recent Social Partnership Protocol VI which was agreed in 2011,” said Armstrong.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb