ENERGY Minister Stuart Young is optimistic that Project Lara, a major renewable energy project that Government is pursuing with the private sector, will be signed off and implemented before the end of February. He made this comment at the virtual Caribbean Sustainable Energy Conference 2022 on Monday.
Referring to renewable energy initiatives mentioned by Finance Minister Colm Imbert in the 2022 budget last October, Young regretted there was no sign-off on the 112.2 megawatts solar photovoltaic project with a consortium comprising bpTT, Shell and Lighthouse bpTT.
"I am embarrassed to say that I did not meet my target for the month of January to be able to sign off on Project Lara with Lighthouse bp."
Young said, "I am intending and I will guarantee today (Monday) to have the agreement finalised, settled and signed and executed before the end of February."
Last October, Imbert said the project involved the construction of two solar photovoltaic plants at Couva and Trincity at a cost of US$100 million.
Young said on Monday Government is looking at certain solar projects in the Gulf of Paria as well as the use of some quarries for other solar projects.
Lighthouse bp CEO Nick Boyle, who also addressed the conference, was glad to hear the agreement will be finalised soon. Boyle said renewable energy projects, such as Project Lara, allows natural gas that would have been used for electricity generation to be utilised for other purposes.
Young also underscored the importance of striking the right balance between proper energy usage and climate change. He made this point in response to a contribution from special envoy (on investments and financial services) to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Prof Avinash Persaud.
Persaud said countries whose economies are centred on fossil fuels must not believe they have an inordinate period of time to make the transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy.
Reminding participants that one of the agreements out of last November's COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland was achieving global net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Persaud said fossil-fuel producing nations have 20 years to make that change. Referring to an earlier contribution by Guyana President Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali, Persaud said, "The challenge for fossil fuel producers is how do you make the energy and economic transition." While the usage of renewable energy in Barbados is currently 20 per cent, Persaud indicated the objective of Mottley's administration is to reduce the island's carbon emissions by 70 per cent.
He told participants that transitioning to cleaner energy was a key plank in Mottley's Barbados Labour Party's (BLP) recent successful general election campaign. The BLP won all 30 seats in a snap election on January 19. As he acknowledged Persaud's comments, Young said, "When your economy is dependent on something, your perspective is of course focused on the protection of that (something)."
He recalled when the covid19 pandemic
