The switch to renewable energy in the region hindered by politics

Experts at the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) are not satisfied that the switch from fossil fuel to renewable energy in the region is being done with much urgency and support from governments.

They agreed that individuals, businesses and governments all had a role to play in mitigating the impact of rising fuel prices, which has become a sore point in recent days and could worsen in the weeks ahead as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.

However, Sustainable Energy Expert with CCREEE Gerald Lindo, and Charlin Bodley the centre’s Sustainable Energy Project Development and Gender Expert, have identified some limitations that they said were hindering the switch.

They gave the indication on Thursday during the first of a series of quarterly sessions, which focused on fuel and electricity pricing.

Acknowledging that decisionmakers had to “juggle a lot of things” while confronting limited fiscal space, Bodley said it was still their responsibility to protect residents from the severe impacts of rising fuel prices.

Urging leaders to “find solutions” as they take into consideration their nuances, Bodley said it was also the duty of businesses and individuals to “lobby for change” in their regulation to enable them to participate in the transition.

Questioning the continued high dependency on imported fossil fuel, Bodley expressed concern that the Caribbean could end up in hot water if there were any significant events that would result in the stoppage of fossil fuel to the region.

“That is not impossible and if that happens we are in trouble because our electricity systems depend highly on imported fossil fuel, our transport systems depend highly on imported fossil fuel. So we achieve energy security when that is not the case,” she said.

“So, renewable energy must be a part of the answer at the individual level. We cannot run away from the fact that renewable energy is indigenous, the most we are importing is the technology and the Caribbean still has an opportunity to become a little less dependent on importing that technology itself,” said Bodley.

She suggested that politics was one of the major limitations for the region not doing more, explaining that the five-year term in office could be a factor in the lack of urgency given the high costs associated with renewable energy projects and the time period for the results to be seen.

However, she said, “At the end of the day it is really our future and it has to be in our hands.”

Bodley suggested that regulations and policies were also limiting build-out of the renewable energy sector in most countries.

“The regulatory frameworks in our member states do not always support that transition. It doesn’t support the average person like you and me, to be able to invest in renewable energy. Country X in the OECS for example, for a commercial agency, the limit is installing a system only up to 25 kilowatts. That really is a drop in the bucket for a small hotel,” she complained.

The geothermal energy expert also noted that transitioning the transportation sector from gas and diesel to electric vehicles was critical and “a real solution”, but said this was one area where governments did not seem to want to give up taxes.

“Because our governments, our national budgets, our income and revenues are so dependent on taxes that are tied into the import of vehicles, how then do we convince our governments or what argument do we present to our government to say ‘yes, you will forfeit quite a bit of revenue if  you support purely electric vehicles coming in?’ So there are a lot of things to think about,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lindo suggested that regulations could help to control prices and limit the impact on the population, but said in addition to a switch to renewable energy sources including the use of more electric vehicles, there needed to be more energy efficiency practices at all levels.

“What comprises your generation mix will determine what affects you. If you have a lot more renewable sources for example, that are not affected by global commodity markets then when commodity markets start going crazy you are not affected,” he pointed out.

“You may want to see if you can drive less, you may want to carpool, you may want to turn your lights off instead of leaving them on,” he added.

“If you can just be more efficient – switch out your devices so you can get the same sort of services for less power consumption or less fuel consumption – that is another way you can change the way these global effects impact you. It is imperfect and sometimes difficult to individuals because of the costs involved,” he said.

However, he said for those who were in a position to meet the criteria they should approach funding and technical assistance agencies that can provide the necessary assistance.

“I would encourage everybody to think about how they can consume less and how they can get more out of the energy they consume and whether they can substitute one form of energy which is subject to price swings to another which may have more price predictability,” said Lindo.