by Marlon Madden
The ongoing war in Ukraine has brought into sharp focus the need for Barbados and other regional states to ramp up efforts in building out the renewable energy sector. In fact, the rising fuel costs, which pundits say could continue to skyrocket in coming months, has again renewed discussions on the need for greater use of electric vehicles across the Caribbean. Up to 2020, it was estimated that Barbados had just over 350 electric vehicles on the road, and about 19,348 diesel powered vehicles and just over 116,500 gas powered vehicles.
Transportation is responsible for approximately 33 per cent of energy consumed on the local energy sector, according to information from the Ministry of Energy. The island’s fuel import bill averages just over $600 million annually.
The Barbados National Energy Policy 2019 – 2030 calls for the elimination of the use of diesel and gasoline for local transport, which experts have indicated would require a retrofitting of existing fleet or a restriction on the importation of conventional vehicles. It will also require incentives on the importation of electric and alternative renewable fuel vehicles, according to the energy policy.
One policy measure for the transport sector that it outlines is the removal of duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) from electric vehicles and encouragement of “a scheduled approach to increasing their use in the national transportation fleet, while at the same time, not harming government’s revenue stream”.
“Additionally, a much more efficient mass transit system will be required. A reliable charging station infrastructure will need to be rapidly developed to provide consumer confidence along with training of a cadre of technicians to install, operate and maintain the new green transportation technologies,” the document added.
Charlin Bodley, Sustainable Energy Project Development Expert with Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), said transitioning the transportation sector was absolutely necessary if countries in the region are to become less reliant on fossil fuel.
“In fact, in most of our member states one would think electricity is the main culprit for being the highest consumer of fuel, but in fact it is transport. So the transport sector even consumes more than our diesel-based electricity generating facilities,” said Bodley.
“We speak about electric vehicles and it is awesome and I highly support it . . . it is something that is a real solution and we have every proof that it is,” she told a recent online discussion.
However, she warned that as more developed countries made the transition that the Caribbean did not become a “dumping ground for all of these conventional, internal combustion engine vehicles that the rest of the world no longer wants”. She agreed governments in the region must be willing to provide incentives for the importation of electric vehicles.
“Because our governments, our national budgets, our income and revenues are so dependent upon taxes that are tied into the import of vehicles, how then do we convince our governments or what argument do we present to our government to say ‘yes, you will forfeit quite a bit of revenue if you support purely electric vehicles coming in?’ So there are a lot of things to think about,” said Bodley.
“So we need to find solutions for the problems rather than problems for our solutions. But there are nuances we must be aware of. So that said, I think a lot of moving parts must come together and we must continue to lobby. It cannot be only at an organisational level. The average citizen must lobby for changes in the regulation to enable them to participate in the transition,” she said.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
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