Ateliers

Given the high cost of electricity production and the Caribbean's significant renewable-energy potential, not forgetting the necessity for the transport sector to move way from fossil-based energy, electricity generated from renewable resources should reach much higher percentages across the different islands (current figures: Martinique ~30%, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines ~ 20%, other islands ~0-5%). There is no denying that much remains to be done to support major development of the production means.

In recent years, the E-mobility sector has been a focus of attention in Caribbean countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that the transport sector represents 36% of the Caribbean's primary energy consumption (2016).  Furthermore, the limited autonomy of electric vehicles, is not expected to be an obstacle to their use in these regions where, by their very nature, the islands determine the maximum distances travelled. Under the Paris Agreement, a number of Caribbean states have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, particularly inn the transport sector. Hence Grenada plans to reduce its transport-sector emissions by 20% by 2025 and Dominica, consuming electricity (therefore including the transport sector).

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with its Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency, plays a very active role in the field of E-mobility, for example through the C-SERMS programme (Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap & Strategy). After publishing its Regional electric Vehicle Strategy (REVS) in February 2020, CARICOM is about to launch a study on E-mobility in the Caribbean with the help of a consultant recruited specifically for the task.

The long-term goal of his work package (WP) is to assess feasibility of converting (retrofitting) combusting-engine vehicles in OECS Member States and drawing up a roadmap for the development of "green" vehicles (electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) in Guadeloupe.

The works relating to sustainable energy in transportation are:

  • An overview of public policies in favour of the transport sector's energy transition in OECS Member States, and a preliminary study on the feasibility of retrofitting.
     
  • A pilot project for demonstration of a vehicle retrofit, in cooperation with an OECS technical university.
        
  • A strategy for the development of green vehicles in Guadeloupe.

This work package will focus mainly on promoting the project activities.

All communication actions elaborated for the project aille be helpful to the dissemination of outcomes, while contributing to the development of new skills and the pooling of best practices with regard to the issues covered. 

In particular, the marketing activities will help to create an environment that appeals to investors and should, therefore, trigger later initiatives.

The communication goals, arising directly from the project objectives, are as follows :

  • To share best practices observed in the Caribbean in terms of energy control in the fields of construction, sustainable mobility and renewable energies,
     
  • To strengthen regional cooperation (in the Caribbean) at political level,
     
  • To identify pilot projects emerging in the Caribbean, 
     
  • To promote renewable energies and energy efficiency, and create investment opportunities, 
     
  • To share outcomes with the public at large and with businesses,
     
  • To highlight the work of the Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy.

The Regional Council of Guadeloupe is in charge of coordinating the TEC project. This involves steering all the project tasks while ensuring compliance with the terms of the ERDF Agreement and the bilateral agreements signed with the project partners: the OECS, the ADEME and the BRGM.

The project coordinator makes sure that all partners properly manage the administrative and technical tasks for which they are responsible. It ensures that the partners remain on schedule in terms of reporting on their work progress.

  • Administrative monitoring,
     
  • Monitoring of work progress and the fulfilment of tasks,
     
  • Information and reminders to Activity Leaders,
     
  • Communication among project partners,
     
  • Organisation of Steering Committees,
     
  • Concatenation of deliverables and pooling of results.

Geothermal energy is key to achieving Guadeloupe's goal of energy self-sufficiency by 2030 in accordance with the French Energy Transition & Green Growth Act (TECV), as set out in the Guadeloupe Energy Roadmap. Boosted by an apparently strong existing potential, the activity has been developing for several years now on several other islands of Caribbean region, notably with projects for new energy plants in Dominica and Nevis, and new exploratory studies about to be launched on Saint-Vincent, the Grenadines ad Martinique.

At Caribbean level, Bouillante in Guadeloupe boasts the only geothermal energy plant currently in operation and the sector's growth in the region is expected to continue and even accelerate. Since th creation of "Géothermie Bouillante" plant, Guadeloupe has acquired solid expertise in geothermal energy. The organisation and visibility of the industry in the Caribbean and elsewhere has therefore been a priority for the Regional Council of Guadeloupe for several years now.

In the aim of capitalizing on this expertise, an initiative to create a Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy (CCEG) was launched in the scope of an INTERREG 4 « Geothermal Energy in the Caribbean » project led by the Regional Council of Guadeloupe. The work carried out under the INTERREG 5 programme has resulted in the implementation of the Energy Transition in the Caribbean (ETC) project, in which one of the work packages includes the official creation of a Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy. Based in Guadeloupe, the Centre of Excellence's activity aims to influence the entire Caribbean region, particularly those neighbouring countries that contribute to the project.

Beyond the creation of the Centre of Excellence, this work package aims, starting at the Bouillante site, and in a logic of replicability across the Caribbean, to develop innovative methods of exploring geothermal solutions in a volcanic-island environment. Among other items, this includes the development of new electromagnetic imaging techniques. The aim is to develop techniques based on active electromagnetic sources (Controlled-Source EM-CSEM) alongside inductive electromagnetic measurements (helicoptered or ground-based Time-Domain EM – MT) in order to obtain a 3D image of the electrical conductivity of deep aquifers. These methods will also be adapted for use in the marine environment in order to reduce the twilight zones that arise from proximity to the sea.

The different activities relating to the regional development of geothermal resources are :

  • Setting up of the Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy in Guadeloupe.
     
  • Study of the content and feasibility of a training programme and the methods for setting this up, via the Caribbean Centre of Excellence on Geothermal Energy established in Guadeloupe.
     
  • Design and production of a methodological guide to the introduction of geothermal electricity production projects into the environment and into society.
  • Preliminary study on the development of non-electricity producing geothermal energy in the Lesser Antilles. 
     
  • Roll-out of a training programme, specifically intended to upskill OECS policy makers, in relation to geothermal solutions.
     
  • Definition and roll-out of a « Regional geothermal development Mechanism »

Throughout the Caribbean islands demographic pressure and the corresponding energy requirements place the building sector, along with transportation, at the core of the challenges of energy transition.

Energy efficiency has been the focus of attention in the building sector. For example, in 2018, the CROSQ (CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality), created the CARICOM Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code (CREEBC). Also, the OECS released a 6th edition of its Building Code in 2016.

We still observe the following issues at the Caribbean level: 

  • It remains difficult to put into practice new building methods and techniques ;
         
  • Governments have difficulty assessing the impact of public policies on energy consumption ;
        
  • It is still difficult to determine and share best practices and feedback at regional level. 

In this context, one of the goals of the ETC INTERREG programme is to share with partner States Guadeloupe's experience of the past 10 years in the field of energy efficient buildings. The ultimate aim of this work package is to encourage the development of public policies that support energy transition, facilitate the implementation and assessment of such policies, and standardise measures across the different Caribbean countries. 

The different activities relating to the energy efficiency of buildings are as follows:

  • Production of a handbook of Energy building Standards used in Guadeloupe (Réglementation Thermique de Guadeloupe) for the benefit of OECS Member States.
     
  • Study on the energy efficiency of tertiary-sector buildings, for OECS Member States.
     
  • Setting up of a qualifying training course in energy management, for the benefit of key staff in OECS countries.
     
  • A démonstration project with follow-up work and assessment of practical measures relating to the energy efficiency of OECS tertiary-sector buildings.
     
  • A pilot project on energy resilience for critical infrastructure, through the installation of solar systems in OECS countries.