Two awarded 2025 Energy Development Scholarship

Jamarly Toney and Jade Harding have been named recipients of the 2025 Energy Development Scholarship, which supports Barbadians pursuing postgraduate studies in fields vital to the country’s energy transition.

Launched in 2023, the scholarship is linked to Barbados’ 2030 National Energy Policy goals. It has already funded studies in offshore wind, coastal engineering, exploration geophysics, and applied data science – disbursing over $520 000 to date.

Toney, a civil structural engineer with project management experience, will pursue a master’s in earthquake engineering with disaster management at University College London.

“As we transition to more renewable energy and invest in new infrastructure, it is critical, now more than ever, that we consider disaster resilience,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s an investment in the people and the society.”

Harding, who works in the Ministry of Energy’s Natural Resources Department, will deepen his expertise in spatial data analysis to support national energy planning.

“Technically, I’m actually doing it right now for the ministry,” he said. “We have a whole set of data coming in from different platforms and different areas… that could be used to more proactively plan the energy sectors, both the oil and gas and the renewable energy sectors.”

The scholarship is overseen by a multi-agency selection committee, including representatives from the Energy Division, University of the West Indies, Barbados Renewable Energy Association, Barbados National Energy Company, Ministry of Educational Transformation and the Learning Development Directorate. (SB)