Barbados - Renewable Energy Outlook

Approximately 40% of Bajans have embraced solar hot water systems. There are three major players in this space; Aquasol (now Solaris), SunPower, and Solar Dynamics. Thousands of these systems are sprinkled on the roof tops of hotels, apartments complexes, and single family homes.

Barbados also has a Net Billing mechanism in place making grid connected photovoltaic possible as well. This scheme is similar to net metering, but it slightly favors the utility. Electric bills in the US are typically divided into two major charges; Supply and Delivery. Each category is calculated on a unique per kWh rate according to usage. The supply rate is tied to the commodity price of electricity while the delivery rate is linked to the costs of running and maintaining the power grid. With Net Metering, all items on the bill calculated on a per kWh basis are eligible for a renewable energy generation offset. The ratio is one to one.

Net Billing is different. Islands throughout the Caribbean that heavily rely on foreign oil almost unanimously include a fuel cost clause that displays varying costs associated with imported fuel. Any unit of electricity sent to the grid from a renewable energy source effectively eliminates this cost to the utility. Net Billing in Barbados is a policy to reward this "avoided cost". Fortunately, this cost fluctuates between 20-30 ¢/kWh so the economics are not greatly affected. Not to mention, the utility is happy avoiding unnecessary costs and still collecting a check from distributed renewables, right?

Wrong. Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) is not only a monopoly, but it is also 100% owned by Emera, a Canadian company. PV Grid interconnection is possible and has been achieved in Barbados, but there is a definite consensus among integrators that the utility is not playing ball. Several small solar projects under 10kW have been completely installed and ready to connect for over a year! A representative of the projects stated the utility had been very enthusiastic about the systems initially, but the actually interconnection process has been convoluted seemingly with the intent to delay. 

There is good news on the horizon: Barbados is set to pass the Electric Light and Power Act (ELPA) which starts to give rights to Independent Power Producers (IPPs). If passed, up to 16MW of distributed generation could come online- 5kW cap for Residential or 50kW cap for Commercial systems. The ELPA also requires the utility to publish a grid code which will standardize the interconnection policy. An Advisory Committee will be established to regulate the licenses given to the IPPs and prevent any additional monopolies from forming. 

If Barbados is to pass the ELPA by the end of the year, Aruba and Barbados will be the markets to watch in 2014 as the USVI starts to slow down after the tax depreciation bonus expires at the end of this year. Strong legislation is critical to cultivating an enabling environment for renewables and IPPs to flourish in a market that is currently a monopoly.

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