THE project to aid Barbados in transitioning to a cleaner energy future, meet its current natural gas demands and contribute to the creation of a regional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply chain is on its way.
Yesterday, while speaking in the Senate on the National Petroleum Corporation Amendment Bill 2017, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, who holds responsibility for Energy, Senator Darcy Boyce, said Government should be signing off on the US$34 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan, at least by the end of June.
The loan will enable the country to enhance its energy security and sustainability by diversifying its energy mix through promoting the use of cleaner fuels for power generation, increasing the use of renewable energy sources, and increasing energy efficient applications by Barbados’ Government and private sector.
“I have taken the approach that if in a year’s time we were not to have any supply of natural gas, I would want us still to be able, very quickly, to get the gas to supply those 21 000 customers.
“So I have said to the National Petroleum Corporation (NPC) and Barbados National Terminal Company Limited, let us have a facility which enables us to supply the current customer base.
“And we have got a loan from the IDB to be able to do that and we expect we should try and get that loan signed before the end of May, certainly before the end of June, so that we can start the work,” he said.
Meanwhile, a release from the IDB on the multimillion-dollar loan, which is for a 24-year term, states that Government’s priorities in the electricity sector include reducing electricity prices, increasing energy security, using cleaner fuels, and reducing negative environmental impacts.
It states that Barbados aims to have renewable energy contribute 65 per cent of total peak electrical demand by 2030 and to achieve a 22 per cent reduction in electricity consumption by 2029. Barbados intends to achieve a 30 per cent economy-wide reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2030 compared with 2008.
The project will finance improvements to Barbados’ existing natural gas infrastructure to ensure natural gas service continuity. The loan will increase energy efficiency and renewable energy applications within the NPC and the Barbados National Oil Company Limited’s (BNOCL) operations to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. It will also enable the implementation of a Public-Private Partnership project to import and supply Liquefied Natural Gas for power generation as well as to provide technical support to NPC/BNOCL to foster greater operational efficiency. (AH)