Work on the Integrated Resource and Resilience Plan (IRRP) has been completed by the Ministry of Energy and Business and the document will be sent to Cabinet shortly.
Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, made this disclosure today at a press briefing at the Warrens Office Complex, to discuss the 2024 Energy Development Scholarship.
Senator Cummins told the media an IRRP was completed in 2021, but it was necessary to update it. “The IRRP will be going to Cabinet in the coming few weeks. In that Integrated Resource and Resilience Plan, we considered any number of battery storage solutions, what are some of the technologies that are available and to date, lithium-ion still remains the most commercially viable technology.
“But that does not mean that it will always be the only or the primary solution in technology that is available now; there are so many other technological solutions that are evolving,” she stated.
The IRRP is a roadmap for countries which outlines what will be included in the energy mix; the available options; their requirements, timeframes, among other things. It enables an integrated assessment of demand and supply-side options, assists the Ministry in optimising energy services and minimising electricity costs for consumers, among other things. The policy aims to achieve a modern, efficient, diversified and environmentally sustainable energy sector for the island state.
Senator Cummins explained that technologies are evolving very quickly, so therefore it was necessary to update this island’s IRRP.
She continued: “So, the 2023 Integrated Resource Resilience Plan…will then set the roadmap for Barbados for the next three years in principle. But I say in principle because for things that are fast moving, you can’t have a three-year timeline…. If things change, and we expect that they will, that plan will have to be upgraded well before three years.”