The European Union is investing 4.25 million euros (EUR) in renewable energy projects in T&T.

Under the organisation’s EUR 300 billion Global Gateway initiative, more significant investments are expected to be made in energy efficiency said the EU’s Ambassador Peter Cavendish during a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Business Guardian (SBG).

He also detailed some of these measures and how T&T can expedite its transition away from fossil fuels to becoming more energy efficient.

For instance, a EUR 2.4M grant is being implemented by the UNDP to increase T&T’s resilience to climate change by introducing renewable energy as an alternative source for electricity generation, thereby contributing to energy security while reducing fossil fuel based electricity, both environmentally and economically.

This will successfully contribute to the country’s commitment to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce its carbon emissions by 15 per cent by 2030.

The project will also raise public awareness on energy efficiency, correct pricing of electricity and promote the benefits of using renewable energy.

Cavendish also outlined a solar panel installation project which involves small-scale roof mounted solar photovoltaic panels at 12 sites across the country that was selected from 164 respondents.

The beneficiaries include remote communities without access to a stable supply of electricity or none.

The sites include the Brasso Seco Paria Tourism Action Committee, the Reptile Conservation Centre of T&T, Speyside High School in Tobago, among others.

The EU is also assisting this country’s push towards renewable energy by developing a draft strategy for wind energy generation, covering all its phases, from analysis of wind potential to decommissioning of assets at the end of its useful life.

The study is expected to provide guidance on identifying the necessary actions to conduct standardized Wind Resource Assessment Projects (WRAP) and Wind Feasibility Studies (WFS) for both onshore and offshore wind.

These actions are needed to determine accurate methodologies in using Global Atlas software in preselecting sites for wind data measurement, to predetermine whether these sites are appropriate to deploy wind measurement equipment, to provide guidance in determining the methodologies related to how data should be collected and to provide comprehensive actions for conducting wind feasibility studies.

“T&T is unusually blessed with the offshore conditions, the depth of the water, and we are confident that in the future wind energy will be a very useful source of reducing carbon emissions,”- Cavendish said.

Also, most recently the sod was turned for a solar park project with a grant of EUR 1.5M from the EU.

This is expected to become a landmark at Piarco International Airport where ground-mounted solar panels will be installed with an annual generation capacity 0.5 MW and a minimum annual generation capacity of 767,000 kWh, thus the potential to avoid approximately 500 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

And in coming days, the EU will be holding a Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) where hundreds of businesses and investors from across the world will help build a “SMARTer, GREENer Caribbean” to be held in T&T from November 8 to 11 2022.

It will highlight four important sectors for growth; AgTech, Renewable Energy, Transportation and Logistics, and Digital Business.

Its main objectives include building regional resilience, establishing long-term jobs, and championing sustainable development.

“We are trying to bring together many elements for future proofing; for industry, commerce and education,” Cavendish explained saying, “Europe is energy dependent. We need our partnerships with the Caribbean. We need partnerships with countries that are energy producing. There’s no going back to the old ways.”

On the global front Cavendish said as a result of the unprecedented war in Europe, there’s now a gigantic shift, signalling that energy efficiency is not only for economic growth but more importantly for security. This, he added, has given the EU a new impetus for all of its actions.

In the coming weeks, the organisations will be announcing its Global Gateway plans, a new European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.

Cavendish argued that the EU is stepping up its offer to its partners, with major investments in infrastructure development around the world.

Between 2021 and 2027, Team Europe, meaning the EU institutions and EU Member States jointly, will mobilise up to EUR 300 billion of investments in digital, climate and energy, transport, health and education and research.

“In addition, we wish to bring in private capital, venture capital.

The Global Gateway is an initiative that is going to change the way we work,” Cavendish added.

At the CIF the Global Gateway will also be featured.

“We will also be bringing in colleagues from the European Investment Bank and they will be on hand to link with industry to see how we can go forward,” he noted.

And at COP27 which starts today, the EU plans to raise awareness of the urgency to take action on climate change, the need to enhance ambition and implementation of emissions reduction pledges (mitigation), enhance adaptation efforts and also the need to align financial flows with the Paris Agreement objectives.

Moving forward

According to Cavendish in addition to energy savings there ought to be way to develop further business opportunities by going green.

Noting that T&T and by extension, the Caribbean has an abundance of resources the EU Ambassador said more focus should be on sustainable tourism.

“The Caribbean is blessed with a huge number of advantages. Only one per cent of the world’s rain forest is cloud rain forest, you have a part of that here in the Caribbean,” Cavendish said.

On challenges this country needs to overcome to strengthen its energy efficiency efforts he noted that the Caribbean remains vulnerable to changes in ocean sea levels, more violent and climatic events.

“I would hope one of the ways out of this awful war would be to accelerate a way out of our dependency to deal with fossil fuels,” he added.

And according to the EU Ambassador this country can be a leader in renewable energy in many ways.

Within the next two weeks, he said the European Council, for the first time, will pay a visit to T&T to met with policymakers and stakeholders to help pave the way forward.

“This is a historic visit and demonstrates our willingness to talk to our international partners,” Cavendish said.

And on the agricultural front, he said T&T has tremendous potential in its cocoa sector with its unique Trinitario offering.

“It’s a premium product. It’s the world’s best cocoa. This is one of the ways where real money can be earned,” he advised.

And to boost research and development there are plans to bring experts from European universities.

“Among the areas for example, is digitalisation of tourism services. This would make that more efficient. We can bring in knowledge from European universities on how to manage Sargassum weed and also the management of the local stocks like cocoa,” Cavendish explained.