The Prime Minister has said the region is “blessed with a high abundance of renewable energy.”
He was speaking at the opening of the international energy conference and expo, Harnessing Energy for Development, in Guyana on Tuesday.
He said, “It is estimated that the Caribbean holds approximately 3,000 megawatts (MW) of potential solar energy, 800 MW of potential wind energy, and over 3,000 MW of potential geothermal energy. With the appropriate investment the region can substantially reduce its dependence on imported refined energy products by harnessing the natural power generated by solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric sources.
"Even so, complete or significant substitution for hydrocarbon products is a long way off.”
He said though there is an accelerated renewable energy transition owing to climate change, it is slow-paced in the Caribbean.
“In an October 2022 release, the president of the Caribbean Development Bank reported that to meet the region’s target of 47 per cent of renewable energy by 2027, or 55 per cent of renewable energy by 2030, would mean installing 320 MW of renewable energy capacity per year, compared with the average of 25 MW per year installed over the last nine years across the region.”
Dr Rowley said this hasn’t been achieved because of the high prices of the infrastructure needed to roll out these “national green energy programmes.” He said these high costs have even made it “prohibitive” for most countries in the region.
In addition, he said, “The verbal encouragement, even aggressive demands of the wealthy countries, have not been accompanied by any requisite care and investment in our small debt-laden and struggling economies.”
While industrialisation delivers jobs and products that raise the standard of living, he said it requires “base load power that renewables cannot immediately provide.
“To address energy security and resource-shortage concerns, we need to have an energy mix that capitalises on domestically/regionally available and economically viable sources.”
Focusing on crude oil, he said, “There is a huge interest by major oil and gas companies prospecting off the coasts of Barbados, Grenada, Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Exploration success by new Caribbean entrants in the petroleum industry can be a game-changer for the Caribbean region.”
He added that oil and gas will remain the dominant energy source in the near to medium term, with regional availability and infrastructure needed to determine how various countries expand their domestic energy supplies.
But, he said, “Industry innovation for both fossil fuels and renewable sources will continue to increase energy supply and energy efficiency, thereby improving energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Hence, Rowley said, the concept of climate change should not prevent developing countries from using oil and gas as sources of energy to grow their economies. He said oil and gas are still the main source of energy for “the world’s economic engine” and are cos
