IDB proud to continue smart energy programme support

Dr. Juan Carlos De La Hoz Viñas, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) representative, has said that the Bank is honoured to be in partnership with the European Union and the Government of Barbados for the Public Sector Smart Energy Programme (PSSEP) of the island.

Speaking at the Energy Champion recognition ceremony for the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) last week, Dr. De La Hoz Viñas said that the Bank had been involved in the government project, giving support since 2010 to the tune of US$200 million, but for the PSSEP, the contribution was US$17 million. He stated that the Bank was always interested in giving support to specific and ambitious energy visions, which pushed wide-scale development.

“The retrofitting of government buildings is a significant element of the Smart Energy Programme being undertaken by the Government and all of these financing activities are very much in line with the goal of Barbados becoming fossil fuel free by 2030. I may not be here in this capacity, but I hope that we are invited to be here when this great milestone is achieved,” said De La Hoz Viñas.

He highlighted that though the retrofitting of public sector buildings such as the SJPI was an important part of the programme, there was more to the comprehensive initiative, citing the retrofitting of the public street lighting and also research plans to help Barbados diversify its energy matrix.

“We have not only been supporting capacity building but also ocean studies and wind possibilities, because to achieve this important milestone, all the avenues have to be explored and I am very honoured that it has been a very long-standing relationship with the European Union,” said the IDB representative.

De La Hoz Viñas also mentioned that the Bank was supporting the transformation of the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOC) and National Petroleum Corporation of Barbados (NPC), originally focused on fossil fuels, to becoming renewable energy companies. He stated that this sort of transformation was a major step for any country and lauded the Government of Barbados for seeing the value of the local companies.

“In order to be in line with the 2030 objective, they had to be transformed. We are happy to have been part of the dialogue and be able to steer the components of the project to support this transformation,” he said.

The IDB representative also noted that the support of small and medium-sized enterprises regarding renewable energy and energy efficiency was an integral part of Vision 2025 for the Bank. He added that the move by the Government in the PSSEP, with the backing of the IDB and EU, also spoke to building resilience and the mitigation strategies for climate change. (AS)