- Email: [email protected]
Ocean energy: The new energy frontier for the Eastern Caribbean Small Island Developing States
Energy Policy 99 (2016) 1–3
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol
Correspondence
Ocean energy: The new energy frontier for the Eastern Caribbean Small Island Developing States
art ic l e i nf o Keywords: Small Island Developing States Marine renewable energy OTEC Green energy
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) consists of 10 countries in its membership (Fig. 1), all of which are Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with large ocean space as part of their jurisdiction. Six of the Member States are independent territories, whilst the other four are overseas territories or department of the United Kingdom and France. In 2013, the OECS governing body adopted a policy to support regional oceans governance (Eastern Caribbean Regional Oceans Policy – ECROP) with a greater emphasis on the blue economy. The islands’ energy budget and infrastructural systems are fulfilled and driven by fossil fuels, making these States gross energy importers, expending on average about 10% of their Gross Domestic Product on energy (IDB, 2015). On the microeconomic level, energy costs remain the highest expenditure for most industries and businesses with ripple effects on the tourism and transportation sectors in particular. The dependence of imported fuel has made the region expensive for doing business with the cost of electricity being four times higher than in developed countries (World Bank, 2014). This is a key issue for greater economic growth and a household burden. Cognizant of the growing energy vulnerability these issues bring, coupled with the fluctuating and often escalating global prices, OECS countries are making concerted efforts to shift the paradigm to more locally sourced green energy in the form of renewables. This has resulted in the of countries of the region articulating greater energy efficiency and have commenced or developed energy policy or plan. However, the emphasis is mainly on the terrestrial renewable energy. Since 2000, a number of renewable energy initiatives are being pursued across the region but the realization of success is slower than desired. A major challenge to renewable energy initiatives has been land availability due to island size and spatial planning requirements for the successful implementation of such projects. Competing land uses and other interests are increasing the cost of land proving a challenge for renewable energy projects. While wind and solar energy hold potential for immense growth, these challenges have produced a stagnated uptake or abandonment of 1
initiatives in these areas. Growing populations, food and water security concerns and the need to sustain the terrestrial centered economic activities, it is likely that adding another activity which are deemed as competing for land space will continue to slow progress in renewable energy transition. The described situation shows clearly, that it is time for the region to seriously investigate the large ocean frontier as a credible source to the energy matrix. The reduced cost and advances in technology are making ocean-based energy more affordable in the developing countries. New and emerging Ocean Energy (OE) technologies such as Combined Cooling and Desalination Technologies, Ocean Current Energy, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), Offshore Wind Energy, Tidal Energy, Wave Energy and Floating Solar Photovoltaic all show significant promise for development. The ocean is becoming an important source of renewable energy globally (Economist, 2012). The economic benefits of the technologies are even better for the OECS region because of the close geographic proximities of the islands, a shared governance system embodied by The Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Economic Union (OECS, 2010), and a shared economic system and monetary transaction space. Harnessing ocean energy can potentially be used to supply the resident populations of OECS Commission as well as the millions of tourists arriving each year. Using, available data for eight countries1 of the OECS, it is calculated that its overall energy consumption for 2012 amounted to 11.61 million barrels which are from fossil fuels (EIA, 2016). This, translates to a high economic cost to the region, requiring significant monetary transactions. Ocean energy technologies are still undetermined, yet undoubtedly has significant potential for deployment in the Caribbean. Although these technologies are approaching commercialization in other parts of the world, still very few steps have been taken to facilitate their deployment in the OECS or for that matter, the Latin America and Caribbean region. Beyond the financial benefits, there is the potential of the islands to be test beds
The countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis and Martinique
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.09.024 0301-4215/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2
Correspondence / Energy Policy 99 (2016) 1–3
Fig. 1. Map of the OECS Member States and the maritime boundaries (agreed and hypothetical). Source: Modified from Singh et al. (2015). The 10 Member States of the OECS are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Martinique. EEZ is the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) can be a maximum of 200 Nautical miles measured from the baselines from which the breath of the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, 1982).
to explore strategies for clean energy transitions using marine renewable. To date, there are no ‘test beds’ in the Latin America and the Caribbean for marine renewables and by creating such can allow for greater uptake in the region. This is in an era where research and technology development in ocean energy continues to report that significant capital cost reductions will be achieved in the near to medium-term with these technologies, thereby allowing ocean energy to become a competitor to other forms of electricity generation. This cost convergence is expected to occur in the OECS region, as the costs of electricity under the current systems are consistently high – typically US$0.39/kWh (US$390/ MWh) across the region (IDB, 2015). For example, the expected benefits from OTEC to the region are significant given that OTEC is not intermittent and can provide baseload power. OTEC can also provide cooling without electricity consumption. Currently, cooling of buildings, accounts for the largest proportion of electricity consumption in the OECS. Additionally, the capacity factor of OTEC plants is averaged around 90–95%, one of the highest for all power generation technologies (IRENA, 2014). Although to date there are no commercial OTEC
power plants, Martinique is now in the process of adding OTEC to its energy matrix, where a floating platform, will use the high temperature gradient at surface and depth to produce non-intermittent and carbon-free electricity. The momentum for marine renewable especially OTEC is growing globally. By 2014, the maximum size of the OTEC plants built was 1 MW however there are a number of 10 MW plants being planned (Magagna and Uihlein, 2015). Other forms of ocean renewable energy such as wave are being studied and there is growing empirical estimation of its viability for example in countries such as Canary Islands (Rusu and Onea, 2016). Recognition of marine renewables are growing (Pelc and Fujita, 2002; Bahaj and Myers, 2003). Hence, it is not whether this should be considered in the OECS, it is a matter of when. Compared to the larger Caribbean region, The OECS economic space offers an existing policy platform to pursue ocean energy in the form of the Eastern Caribbean Regional Ocean Policy (ECROP, 2013). The policy was approved in 2014 and currently being implemented to support sustainable ocean governance in the region. This policy prescription identified as one of the priorities for the
Correspondence / Energy Policy 99 (2016) 1–3
region is the ‘harnessing the economic potential of the oceans for human wellbeing’. Therefore, as part of the priority, the region's large ocean space is regarded as a new frontier for economic growth and energy is one of the blue assets. Exploring the vast potential of the oceans will require a new way of thinking and strong policy support. In moving this forward, this policy foundation must be built on a plan proposed as follow:
3
presented challenges to renewable energy projects. However, the OECS region has approximately 1566.77 km of coastline and significant deep water wave power flux, therefore it serves the interest of the OECS to explore ocean energy as a source to its energy self-sufficiency for both the present and future generations.
References a. An Ocean Energy (OE) Assessment: A region wide assessment to ascertain where and what is the potential energy from the marine environment. In the absence of this information, then the conversation on marine renewable cannot be initiated, which effectively means that the region's energy instability and insecurity will persist compromising its growth and competitiveness. Ocean Energy, could also add the region's commitments to climate change mitigation though small but significant to global greenhouse gas emission. A robust resource assessment will provide the required locational guidance for future OE projects in the region and will help to build a platform for the piloting and subsequent commercial build-out of Ocean Energy technologies. This can be done at scales compatible to the island characteristics of the OECS. A more in-depth understanding of the resource as well as the areas suited for future project development will allow decision makers and other stakeholders to prioritize OEC both geographically and technologically. b. Partnership: Advancing the uptake of ocean renewables in the OECS will require an effective public-private partnership in the form of a consortium of donor, research agencies, other oceans users and civil society to develop the required business model to grow and sustain this business. Partnership is also needed to create an environment for research in island OE, if growth of marine renewable are to become a reality in the region. c. The Enabling Environment: Creating the policy environment which reduces the barriers of uptake of renewables is critical. Currently, the energy systems in the OECS are monopolized through private business arrangements which are resistant to renewable inclusion. Therefore, greater engagement is required accompanied by the required governance restructuring. Further, the infrastructure to accommodate the shift to or inclusion of renewables into the energy grid to support integrated sustainable energy management must be provided.
Bahaj, A.S., Myers, L.E., 2003. Fundamentals applicable to the utilisation of marine current turbines for energy production. Renew. Energy 28 (14), 2205–2211. Energy Information Administration, 2016. International Database on Energy Consumption. Available at: 〈http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). IRENA, 2014. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Ocean Energy Technology Brief 1, June 2014. Available at: 〈http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publica tions/Ocean_Thermal_Energy_V4_web.pdf〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). Inter-American Bank, 2015. Sustainable Energy Facility for the Eastern Caribbean, Project Profile, pp 18. OECS, 2010. The Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the organization of Eastern Caribbean States Economic Union, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, 56 pp. OECS Commission, 2013. OECS Eastern Caribbean Regional Ocean Policy, OECS Commission, Castries St. Lucia, 72 pp. Magagna, D., Uihlein, A., 2015. 2014 JRC Ocean Energy Status Report, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport. Available at: 〈https://setis.ec.europa. eu/sites/default/files/reports/2014-JRC-Ocean-Energy-Status-Report.pdf〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). Pelc, R., Fujita, R.M., 2002. Renewable energy from the ocean. Mar. Policy 26 (6), 471–479. Rusu, E., Onea, F., 2016. Estimation of the wave energy conversion efficiency in the Atlantic Ocean close to the European islands. Renew. Energy 85, 687–703. Singh, A.H., Asmath, C., Leung Chee, Darsan, J., 2015. Potential oil spill risk from shipping and the implication for management in the Caribbean Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 93, 217–227. The Economist, 2012. Power from the Sea, Second Time around: Ocean Heat may be Used to Generate Electricity. Available at: 〈http://www.economist.com/node/ 21542381〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). World Bank, 2014. Cost of Electricity in the Caribbean Region. World Bank, Washington D.C.. UNCLOS, 1982. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, United Nations, 350 pp.
Asha Singhn Environmental Governance Consulting, Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago E-mail address: [email protected] Judith Ephraim Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, Morne, Castries, Saint Lucia
The energy needs of the OECS are expected to rise and given the significant expenditure on imported energy, the region is seeking sustainable energy solutions to meet this need and to become more competitive on the global level. The small size of the islands and the absence of zoning for renewable energy have
Received 15 November 2015 23 May 2016 11 September 2016
n
Corresponding author.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol
Correspondence
Ocean energy: The new energy frontier for the Eastern Caribbean Small Island Developing States
art ic l e i nf o Keywords: Small Island Developing States Marine renewable energy OTEC Green energy
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) consists of 10 countries in its membership (Fig. 1), all of which are Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with large ocean space as part of their jurisdiction. Six of the Member States are independent territories, whilst the other four are overseas territories or department of the United Kingdom and France. In 2013, the OECS governing body adopted a policy to support regional oceans governance (Eastern Caribbean Regional Oceans Policy – ECROP) with a greater emphasis on the blue economy. The islands’ energy budget and infrastructural systems are fulfilled and driven by fossil fuels, making these States gross energy importers, expending on average about 10% of their Gross Domestic Product on energy (IDB, 2015). On the microeconomic level, energy costs remain the highest expenditure for most industries and businesses with ripple effects on the tourism and transportation sectors in particular. The dependence of imported fuel has made the region expensive for doing business with the cost of electricity being four times higher than in developed countries (World Bank, 2014). This is a key issue for greater economic growth and a household burden. Cognizant of the growing energy vulnerability these issues bring, coupled with the fluctuating and often escalating global prices, OECS countries are making concerted efforts to shift the paradigm to more locally sourced green energy in the form of renewables. This has resulted in the of countries of the region articulating greater energy efficiency and have commenced or developed energy policy or plan. However, the emphasis is mainly on the terrestrial renewable energy. Since 2000, a number of renewable energy initiatives are being pursued across the region but the realization of success is slower than desired. A major challenge to renewable energy initiatives has been land availability due to island size and spatial planning requirements for the successful implementation of such projects. Competing land uses and other interests are increasing the cost of land proving a challenge for renewable energy projects. While wind and solar energy hold potential for immense growth, these challenges have produced a stagnated uptake or abandonment of 1
initiatives in these areas. Growing populations, food and water security concerns and the need to sustain the terrestrial centered economic activities, it is likely that adding another activity which are deemed as competing for land space will continue to slow progress in renewable energy transition. The described situation shows clearly, that it is time for the region to seriously investigate the large ocean frontier as a credible source to the energy matrix. The reduced cost and advances in technology are making ocean-based energy more affordable in the developing countries. New and emerging Ocean Energy (OE) technologies such as Combined Cooling and Desalination Technologies, Ocean Current Energy, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), Offshore Wind Energy, Tidal Energy, Wave Energy and Floating Solar Photovoltaic all show significant promise for development. The ocean is becoming an important source of renewable energy globally (Economist, 2012). The economic benefits of the technologies are even better for the OECS region because of the close geographic proximities of the islands, a shared governance system embodied by The Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Economic Union (OECS, 2010), and a shared economic system and monetary transaction space. Harnessing ocean energy can potentially be used to supply the resident populations of OECS Commission as well as the millions of tourists arriving each year. Using, available data for eight countries1 of the OECS, it is calculated that its overall energy consumption for 2012 amounted to 11.61 million barrels which are from fossil fuels (EIA, 2016). This, translates to a high economic cost to the region, requiring significant monetary transactions. Ocean energy technologies are still undetermined, yet undoubtedly has significant potential for deployment in the Caribbean. Although these technologies are approaching commercialization in other parts of the world, still very few steps have been taken to facilitate their deployment in the OECS or for that matter, the Latin America and Caribbean region. Beyond the financial benefits, there is the potential of the islands to be test beds
The countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis and Martinique
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.09.024 0301-4215/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2
Correspondence / Energy Policy 99 (2016) 1–3
Fig. 1. Map of the OECS Member States and the maritime boundaries (agreed and hypothetical). Source: Modified from Singh et al. (2015). The 10 Member States of the OECS are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Martinique. EEZ is the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) can be a maximum of 200 Nautical miles measured from the baselines from which the breath of the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, 1982).
to explore strategies for clean energy transitions using marine renewable. To date, there are no ‘test beds’ in the Latin America and the Caribbean for marine renewables and by creating such can allow for greater uptake in the region. This is in an era where research and technology development in ocean energy continues to report that significant capital cost reductions will be achieved in the near to medium-term with these technologies, thereby allowing ocean energy to become a competitor to other forms of electricity generation. This cost convergence is expected to occur in the OECS region, as the costs of electricity under the current systems are consistently high – typically US$0.39/kWh (US$390/ MWh) across the region (IDB, 2015). For example, the expected benefits from OTEC to the region are significant given that OTEC is not intermittent and can provide baseload power. OTEC can also provide cooling without electricity consumption. Currently, cooling of buildings, accounts for the largest proportion of electricity consumption in the OECS. Additionally, the capacity factor of OTEC plants is averaged around 90–95%, one of the highest for all power generation technologies (IRENA, 2014). Although to date there are no commercial OTEC
power plants, Martinique is now in the process of adding OTEC to its energy matrix, where a floating platform, will use the high temperature gradient at surface and depth to produce non-intermittent and carbon-free electricity. The momentum for marine renewable especially OTEC is growing globally. By 2014, the maximum size of the OTEC plants built was 1 MW however there are a number of 10 MW plants being planned (Magagna and Uihlein, 2015). Other forms of ocean renewable energy such as wave are being studied and there is growing empirical estimation of its viability for example in countries such as Canary Islands (Rusu and Onea, 2016). Recognition of marine renewables are growing (Pelc and Fujita, 2002; Bahaj and Myers, 2003). Hence, it is not whether this should be considered in the OECS, it is a matter of when. Compared to the larger Caribbean region, The OECS economic space offers an existing policy platform to pursue ocean energy in the form of the Eastern Caribbean Regional Ocean Policy (ECROP, 2013). The policy was approved in 2014 and currently being implemented to support sustainable ocean governance in the region. This policy prescription identified as one of the priorities for the
Correspondence / Energy Policy 99 (2016) 1–3
region is the ‘harnessing the economic potential of the oceans for human wellbeing’. Therefore, as part of the priority, the region's large ocean space is regarded as a new frontier for economic growth and energy is one of the blue assets. Exploring the vast potential of the oceans will require a new way of thinking and strong policy support. In moving this forward, this policy foundation must be built on a plan proposed as follow:
3
presented challenges to renewable energy projects. However, the OECS region has approximately 1566.77 km of coastline and significant deep water wave power flux, therefore it serves the interest of the OECS to explore ocean energy as a source to its energy self-sufficiency for both the present and future generations.
References a. An Ocean Energy (OE) Assessment: A region wide assessment to ascertain where and what is the potential energy from the marine environment. In the absence of this information, then the conversation on marine renewable cannot be initiated, which effectively means that the region's energy instability and insecurity will persist compromising its growth and competitiveness. Ocean Energy, could also add the region's commitments to climate change mitigation though small but significant to global greenhouse gas emission. A robust resource assessment will provide the required locational guidance for future OE projects in the region and will help to build a platform for the piloting and subsequent commercial build-out of Ocean Energy technologies. This can be done at scales compatible to the island characteristics of the OECS. A more in-depth understanding of the resource as well as the areas suited for future project development will allow decision makers and other stakeholders to prioritize OEC both geographically and technologically. b. Partnership: Advancing the uptake of ocean renewables in the OECS will require an effective public-private partnership in the form of a consortium of donor, research agencies, other oceans users and civil society to develop the required business model to grow and sustain this business. Partnership is also needed to create an environment for research in island OE, if growth of marine renewable are to become a reality in the region. c. The Enabling Environment: Creating the policy environment which reduces the barriers of uptake of renewables is critical. Currently, the energy systems in the OECS are monopolized through private business arrangements which are resistant to renewable inclusion. Therefore, greater engagement is required accompanied by the required governance restructuring. Further, the infrastructure to accommodate the shift to or inclusion of renewables into the energy grid to support integrated sustainable energy management must be provided.
Bahaj, A.S., Myers, L.E., 2003. Fundamentals applicable to the utilisation of marine current turbines for energy production. Renew. Energy 28 (14), 2205–2211. Energy Information Administration, 2016. International Database on Energy Consumption. Available at: 〈http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). IRENA, 2014. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Ocean Energy Technology Brief 1, June 2014. Available at: 〈http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publica tions/Ocean_Thermal_Energy_V4_web.pdf〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). Inter-American Bank, 2015. Sustainable Energy Facility for the Eastern Caribbean, Project Profile, pp 18. OECS, 2010. The Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the organization of Eastern Caribbean States Economic Union, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, 56 pp. OECS Commission, 2013. OECS Eastern Caribbean Regional Ocean Policy, OECS Commission, Castries St. Lucia, 72 pp. Magagna, D., Uihlein, A., 2015. 2014 JRC Ocean Energy Status Report, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport. Available at: 〈https://setis.ec.europa. eu/sites/default/files/reports/2014-JRC-Ocean-Energy-Status-Report.pdf〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). Pelc, R., Fujita, R.M., 2002. Renewable energy from the ocean. Mar. Policy 26 (6), 471–479. Rusu, E., Onea, F., 2016. Estimation of the wave energy conversion efficiency in the Atlantic Ocean close to the European islands. Renew. Energy 85, 687–703. Singh, A.H., Asmath, C., Leung Chee, Darsan, J., 2015. Potential oil spill risk from shipping and the implication for management in the Caribbean Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 93, 217–227. The Economist, 2012. Power from the Sea, Second Time around: Ocean Heat may be Used to Generate Electricity. Available at: 〈http://www.economist.com/node/ 21542381〉 (accessed 20.05.16.). World Bank, 2014. Cost of Electricity in the Caribbean Region. World Bank, Washington D.C.. UNCLOS, 1982. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, United Nations, 350 pp.
Asha Singhn Environmental Governance Consulting, Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago E-mail address: [email protected] Judith Ephraim Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, Morne, Castries, Saint Lucia
The energy needs of the OECS are expected to rise and given the significant expenditure on imported energy, the region is seeking sustainable energy solutions to meet this need and to become more competitive on the global level. The small size of the islands and the absence of zoning for renewable energy have
Received 15 November 2015 23 May 2016 11 September 2016
n
Corresponding author.