CARICOM: IN SEARCH OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

By D. Ron Singh

The Caribbean region faces growing demands for energy at a time of rising energy prices and tensions over reliability of supply. The major source of energy for CARICOM States is fossil fuel, with Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago producing oil and gas, and a handful of others generating significant amounts of power from geothermal, solar, wind, wood and waste products. The dependence on fossil fuels has not only deepened the vulnerability of the region to global fuel price increases, but has also plagued its foreign exchange reserves. This is further complicated with the likelihood of consumption increases due to growth in urbanization, industry and hospitality services. The Region must search for alternative viable sources of energy that reduce dependence on fossil fuel. One major challenge is how to meet the energy needs and development aspirations while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Clearly, the alternative should be more environment friendly through the reduction of air pollution and the wise use of environmental resources.

CARICOM need to adopt integrated energy systems that derive power from solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, ocean energy technology and bio-fuels. Integrating these renewable energy inputs into a workable economy requires considerable revision of the energy infrastructure, a shift towards more distributed energy systems, and the introduction of specialized components like fuel cells and flow-cell batteries. A shift to such systems won't happen overnight nor will it occur everywhere at the same pace. It calls for a regional effort to implement mechanisms to facilitate its introduction, as well as open access to information - a fundamental part of good environmental governance, and a necessary prerequisite to public involvement in decision-making processes that affect the environment. In this context, where externalities are all but inevitable, public access to environmental information may be one useful mechanism to force States to take into account the views of all those who are impacted by actions taken within their borders.

The best hopes to provide energy, particularly in rural areas, lie in cheap adaptable renewable energy resources. Not only do they provide the best choice and the diversity, but the energy extracted is returned to the environment with normally no net pollution effect. The following are among the viable alternatives which CARICOM should emphasize in its current and future development strategies.

Solar energy, one the most potent sources of energy for the future, is presently being used on a smaller scale in furnaces for homes and to heat up swimming pools. The solar panel is very environment friendly, but requires adequate legal and infrastructural arrangements for its wide-use in the region. Coupled with solar panels, architectural designs of buildings can be an extremely resourceful energy saving mechanisms in the region. Changing building designs to make them climate sensitive, i.e., to reflect and capitalize on tropical conditions – abundance of sunlight and wind – can reduce dramatically the use of and dependence on electricity.

Wind power does not produce by-products that are harmful to nature. Like solar power, harnessing the wind is highly dependent upon weather and location. It is simple and cost-effective, and with the Caribbean’s good wind conditions, onshore wind power can even cost less than conventional power. More importantly, the environmental benefits are huge. For example, two wind farms in the Netherlands will cut 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the atmosphere. Denmark is leading the world with 20% of its power coming from wind power. In some rural areas of Guyana, small wind turbines have been reintroduced in recent years. However, the infrastructural requirements and high costs limit them to a few light bulbs, a refrigerator and recharging batteries.

Geothermal energy, although not enough to replace more than a minor amount of the future's energy needs, should be considered. Obtained from the internal heat of the planet, it can be used to generate steam to run turbines, which in turn generate electricity. This power can be accessed from geothermal hotspots, i.e., volcano countries such as Montserrat and St. Vincent, where there is no need to drill deep into the earth.

In the continental states, i.e., Guyana, Belize and Surinam, as well as the larger islands, i.e., Jamaica, Barbados, bio-fuels (bio-diesel, bio-gas and bio-mass) have great promise. They have huge areas of arable lands for those crops which are used for generating environmentally friendly bio-fuels. The energy plants can be run by solar and/or bio-fuel energy.

Further, adopting carrot-measures to encourage newer models of automobiles and implementing transportation stick-taxing systems can be extremely useful, cost efficient and economically feasible ways of conserving energy and coping with energy crisis. Like the renewable energy sources, it would reduce costs through less use of gas, and ultimately reduce pollution and dependence on fossil fuel.

Adopting solar derived renewable technologies will only be effective through cumulative efforts of whole communities, at the national as well as the regional level. Government’s action is needed to redirect funding towards these ends and to remove institutional obstacles. Noting CARICOM’s growing demands for energy, the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative (SECCI) has pledged to finance selected programs and projects aimed at finding economically and environmentally sound energy options. But sustainability of the region requires more than financing selected projects; it requires huge investment inflows with long-term plans and initiatives. The implementation of such measures within CARICOM can only be achieved through facilitative legal frameworks and sustainable financing mechanisms. The carrot approach can be extremely useful in encouraging inter-States’ cooperation, and can be a valuable tool within individual economies to forge compliance among the various stakeholders.

CARICOM States must create regulatory framework that reward investment in energy efficiency, as few utilities have meaningful incentives to promote a product which may reduce their profit margins. This would foster long-term investment in least cost, sustainable energy resources, promote technological innovations and avoid polluting industries.
 
(For the complete article, see Ronald Singh, Advancing a "Carrot & Stick" Framework for CARICOM Environmental Cooperation and Governance, 16(1) PENN ST. ENVTL. L. REV. 244-49 (2007) and 37 ENVTL POLICY & LAW (Nos. 5 & 6) 483-85 (2007).