Mott MacDonald has developed an integrated resource and resiliency plan for Barbados

Mott MacDonald has developed an integrated resource and resiliency plan for Barbados to support the implementation of the Barbados National Energy Policy which sets out the island state’s goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2030.

The ambitious national renewable energy targets set by Barbados’ Ministry of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship will be transformative for the country and its 287,000-strong population as the urgency to address climate change grows. The Caribbean Island nation currently relies heavily on imported fossil fuel for electricity generation and transport.

Through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Mott MacDonald provided independent expertise to the ministry to help it develop an integrated resource and resiliency plan. The consultancy created feasible decarbonisation pathways towards achieving the desired policy targets. The study carefully considered the country’s renewable energy resources, integration constraints, energy storage, electrification of the transport sector – particularly electric vehicles and cruise liners – and options for managing the demand side. The plan has been developed to ensure a resilient and reliable low-carbon energy supply, while minimising electricity costs for consumers.

The plan noted planning for the decarbonisation of the electricity sector should not be undertaken in isolation due to its interlinkages with other sectors such as transportation, agriculture (biofuel crops), tourism and waste management. Therefore, one of the key recommendations was to establish a cross-sector working group to analyse and agree planning criteria and priorities throughout implementation.

The Barbados government has recently approved one of the scenarios recommended in the study and will be taking the next steps to implement and achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030.

Read the draft report here: https://energy.gov.bb/publications/integrated-resource-resiliency-plan-for-barbados/