Saint Lucia is to join the regional movement, alongside four other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) islands, to identify ways to improve energy efficiency in buildings.
A regional training workshop on Simulation Tools for Energy Efficiency in Caribbean Buildings, commenced today at the National ICT Centre, Bourbon Street, Castries, Saint Lucia.
The workshop, held March 9th-12th 2015, is a major activity of the Global Environment Facility-United Nations Environment Programme (GEF-UNEP) Energy for Sustainable Development in Caribbean Buildings (ESD) Project.
The continued total dependence of the region on importation of petroleum products is no longer an option for our continued growth and development. To help us in this regard, the ESD project was launched in April 2013, and is piloting energy efficiency improvements in the economy of participating member states in CARICOM.
The Caribbean region imports in excess of 170 million barrels of petroleum products, annually, with 30 million barrels used in the electric sector, and since buildings are major consumers of electricity across the region, the project focuses on the buildings sector for improving the efficiency of energy use.
A recent study revealed that ninety one (91) percent of the total electricity sold in Saint Lucia is consumed in buildings and 33 percent of the total commercial energy – that is both electricity and petroleum products – is consumed in buildings.
Participation in the ESD Project is a direct indication of the Government’s commitment to addressing the consumption of energy in buildings as the government moves to make its own buildings more energy efficient and provides incentives for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the country.
This project is being implemented by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Climate Change Centre (5Cs/CCCCC), and involving five pilot countries: Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The project’s objective is to transfer and implement sustainable energy policies, instruments and knowledge in the Caribbean countries through the promotion of energy efficiency applications and renewable energy use within the residential and public building sector. The aim is to achieve a minimum reduction of 20 percent in electricity use through the pilot activities that are to take place during 2014 – 2017.
The Simulation Tools for Energy Efficiency in Caribbean Buildings Training Workshop is an activity that represents a significant investment toward building the country’s capacity to manage the transition to a low carbon economy and to meet our National Sustainable Energy Goals and those of the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Road Map and Strategy (C-SERMS) for implementation of the renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) dimensions of the CARICOM Energy Policy. This will also allow for successful implementation of efficient lighting retrofits both in the private and public sectors.
The Training Workshop on Simulation Tools for Energy Efficiency in Caribbean Buildings is designed to sensitize modellers and engineers on the value and opportunities of eQUEST and RETScreen in a building assessment protocol.
This workshop incorporates face-to-face and virtual interaction where participants will receive informed guidance on the use of eQUEST and RETScreen software programs.