#BTColumn – Energy transformation in Barbados – Excellent vision, flawed implementation

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

By Trevor T Browne Lt Col

The Barbados energy situation has been in a state of limbo for some years now, particularly since Government proclaimed its innovative and creative Barbados National Energy Policy 2019 – 2030 (BNEP). 

The BNEP envisions a carbon-free energy future for the Island, and is predicated on replacing the use of expensive and environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels as sources of our national energy needs with carbon-neutral, renewable-energy sources, such as solar, wind, bio-fuels and waste- to-energy technologies. 

This vision is now completely achievable and technically feasible, given the many recent advances in technologies that allow the extraction and harnessing of renewable energy directly from the environment and in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. 

Unfortunately, the vision proclaimed by the Barbados government also translates into what is perhaps the single most complex, intricate, and potentially chaotic engineering undertaking to have been contemplated in Barbados, or indeed anywhere, in the last fifty years. Of particular concern has been the dangerously simplistic idea being promoted at high levels of leadership in Barbados, that the challenge is simply one of increasing the percentage of renewable energy sources on the national grid. 

There is a very simple reason why very few other countries, including those that can easily afford the cost of the exercise, have even contemplated a national vision such as the Barbados’ BNEP. This is an extremely complex, intricate and pioneering engineering undertaking, with major risks, some of which are yet to be quantified. 

Any hope of successful implementation of this outstanding national vision will rest on the country’s ability to carefully and meticulously plan, innovate, design, conceptualize, and to overcome the many challenges and barriers to success that exists. Even the sociological impacts of such an energy transformation are foreboding, over and above the technical obstacles and of course the financial hurdles to be faced in building out the many critical assets needed by the new energy framework. 

A quick review of other jurisdictions where similar energy transformations have been tried will quickly identify the enormity of the challenge. 

Spain, based on their relatively good solar profile by European standards, back around 2008, attempted to explore the Photo Voltaic (PV) path with devastating results. Their exercise ended in massive bankruptcies and a highly unpopular ‘National Sun Tax’ being imposed on each solar panel, in an attempt to compensate for the financial chaos that resulted. 

Australia too, is currently experiencing serious energy chaos in many areas, as a result of imbalances caused by intermittent energy penetration into their national grid, now around 15 per cent. 

Both of these country’s situations result from an inadequately planned, investment-driven approach to energy transformation, rather than from a proactive engineered plan, designed for national success. The approved plan (model) then drives the legislation, capitalization, regulation, and operation of the completely new energy framework. 

It must be clear then, that Barbados is currently on a completely wrong track with our energy transformation. 

It is therefore not helpful for our national policy makers to be running around encouraging investors to pump dollars into a complex concept that has not yet been designed, tested, or even defined clearly.

What is urgently required now, is a detailed National Energy Transformation Plan, designed and peer-reviewed by experienced professionals, and which can then be tested and costed to guarantee its viability. 

To repeat, a formal, approved, National Energy Transformation Plan is long overdue. 

Instead, we have been seeing a hurried rush by many investors to grab maximum profits in the early stages of change, without any clear reference to the implications down the road, and mostly based on projections that are derived from a fossil fuel-based framework. 

Even worse is the present situation where those in leadership positions, who should be listening to all sides of the debate in an effort to arrive at the optimal national position, have instead been taking particular sides in the issue, and even directing personal abuse at citizens such as myself, who dare to express concerns about the current direction being pursued. 

As President of the Barbados Association of Professional Engineers, and as a retired professional engineer of 38 years experience in the electrical utility business, I have previously raised professional concerns about the current flawed national path being taken to energy transformation. This is only because BAPE is committed to playing any needed role in supporting the successful implementation of the carbon-free future envisioned for Barbados. 

The innovative BNEP can be achieved, and once successful, would put Barbados in a position to become a global prototype and a reference point for future similar conversions – not only in other small island states, but generally.

However, such success will not be achieved under unenlightened leadership, that does not even grasp the enormity of the challenge – far less the grave dangers that will accompany failure. 

Barbados’ energy transformation needs to be led by a professional design team consisting of engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, project managers and financial experts who actually understand the issues involved.

Once a coherent, tested, peer-reviewed plan has been conceptualized and approved, then a legal team will be needed to facilitate the legislative framework required for the success of that new plan. 

This is actually quite achievable, and for a number of reasons, Barbados is perhaps better placed to pioneer such a futuristic energy revolution than most other places on Earth. 

We have started with excellent vision in the BNEP, but after vision must come proper planning and preparation if we wish to avoid poor performance. 

Trevor T Browne Lt Col (Retired) SCM CCM FBAPE, President

Barbados Association of Professional Engineers