The Barbados Association of Professional Engineers (BAPE) has mostly welcomed the measures announced in Monday’s Budget but expressed concern that a comprehensive plan for achieving 100 per cent reliance on renewable energy is missing.
BAPE President Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Browne, who is also the President of the Barbados Sustainable Energy Co-op, said he was not surprised by the measures announced by Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
“The truth is that the general level of policy enunciation and social development strategising by the present Government has been consistently outstanding and quite impressive. We are particularly impressed by the Government’s focus on pressing forward with the national greening initiative and the clear intent to improve efficiencies and the quality of services to the public, rather than taking a defensive tax and contract approach,” he said.
“If I were to put on my hat as president of the Barbados Sustainable Energy Co-op, the one small disappointment I would personally express has been the lack of an income tax incentive – say up to $10 000 per year for the next three years – for direct investments by Barbadians in the renewable energy sector where these investments are made through a cooperative entity,” added Browne.
He said BAPE felt that would go a long way in changing the culture of ordinary Barbadians towards “the important matter of investing in our own productive enterprises”.
“Having said that, however, the Prime Minister presented a compelling case to the country for this reluctance on the part of ordinary Bajans to invest, to change urgently,” Browne added.
“Where BAPE continues to be disappointed, however, is in the follow-up actions after the high-quality policies. The planning, problem-solving, and the implementation of these outstanding national policies are in need of serious review.”
Pointing out that solutions required extremely competent expertise and experience in order to realise the desired results, Browne said one such area will be that of the energy transformation.
The BAPE head said if successful, that would become a world-class model that would bring significant benefits to the country – even beyond the obvious savings in foreign exchange, environmental greening, jobs, and investment opportunities.
“However, we at BAPE have been extremely concerned at the lack of a comprehensive, detailed, national plan which details our path to success in this brilliant and innovative policy. The headlong rush to install as many solar panels as possible is actually quite short-sighted in the absence of a full understanding of the complex consequences we will face a few years down the road as a result,” he argued.
“This brilliant Government energy policy which is eminently doable is, however, in serious need of engineering planning at the highest possible level, and we are four years into the process.”
He said BAPE stood ready to and was willing to support the initiatives where possible, adding that the association members “will always share our knowledge, ideas and advice publicly, whether solicited or not”.
“What we would like to see is the same level of high-quality thought, public communication, and strategic planning that has been applied to the excellent policies outlined in the Budget, also reflected in the architecture and engineering of the necessary solutions that arise from the policies,” added Browne.
(PR/MM)
