A senior Government minister is coming to the defence of the Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) which has been under scrutiny and heavy criticism in recent weeks as it made a case for a rate increase.Stopping short of calling critics ungrateful, Minister of Energy Kerrie Symmonds chided those who passed judgement on the utility company without acknowledging its good deeds and its critical role in helping Government make Barbados 100 per cent reliant on renewable energy sources by 2030.In fact, he told an energy forum on Wednesday that similar to giving residents an ease during the height of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, the power company has been pardoning the Government, in some cases.“I feel I have a duty from this place to say on behalf of that much-beleaguered and maligned entity in Barbados, that obviously it is not an institution that is perfect. I am not here to make a case for the Light & Power in terms of its perfection, but it is indispensable to the process,” S
Minister of Energy Kerrie Symmonds has defended Government’s push towards hydrocarbon exploration noting that oil and natural gas finds could mean significant foreign exchange earnings for the economy.What is more, he said an oil find would put the country in a position to fund its energy transition, which will require several components and could cost well over $1 billion for battery storage and billions more for the renewable energy mix needed.“You have to have a combination of things, You have to have wind - offshore more than likely - but an offshore small wind farm by the world standards, maybe 150 megawatts or 200 megatwatts, will cost this country $2 billion and it has to be financed,” said Symmonds.“Therefore we say to you, if we were to find the hydrocarbon resources, and we know there is a demand for the resources, we are quite prepared to sell to meet that demand to finance the way forward for this country’s purposes in so far as clean energy is concerned,” he sa
Barbados has embarked on a fresh initiative to lure the world’s leading energy firms to explore its waters for oil and gas, after the latest seismic study showed the possible existence of significant hydrocarbon resources. Minister of Energy Kerrie Symmonds said on Wednesday that the bidding process for licences will start on December 1.He recently returned to the island from an international promotional roadshow in Houston, Texas, where he went public with the planned auction.“Woodside Energy, which was formerly BHP, has now successfully completed a 2 600 square kilometre 3D seismic survey offshore Barbados in the Carlisle Bay and the Bimshire Blocks. The final returns on that survey should be with us in a few months, but on the basis of previous surveys and what other information we have been able to pick up, we felt fairly confident that now was the right time to announce t
Barbados is set for a $3.5 billion investment in the renewable energy sector.Minister of Energy Kerrie Symmonds said on Monday that Cabinet has created a national energy storage policy with the anticipation that storage would be the next frontier in renewable energy investment.“It is anticipated that energy storage systems will be unlocking $3.5 billion in investment for this country. Government does not contemplate a single storage solution but instead is contemplating several grid-related services,” he announced during the Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) annual general meeting held via Zoom.“Services which reduce or eliminate the need for energy curtailment will be of the greatest interest to the Government and will also be a type of service that should be of the greatest interest to independent power producers and investors.”