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Stakeholders are pictured at the Launch of the Energy Smart Fund at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. (C. Pitt/BGIS)??

Government is leaving no stone unturned in order to make this country energy efficient.

This was underscored by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, as he addressed the launch of a US$10 million Energy Smart Fund at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre today.

The project is being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and it is being designed in collaboration with the Enterprise Growth Fund Ltd.

As part of Government’s energy efficiency programme, Mr. Stuart announced that 25 homeowners would be provided with photovoltaic systems at a quarter of the cost of their procurement and installation.?? The venture, he said was being executed with funding from the Global Environmental Project, in conjunction with the IDB.

In addition, he stated 3000 power monitors and 15,000 energy efficient lights would also be distributed to members of the public. "Three thousand households will benefit from the supply of these energy saving devices at a cost of only $10," he stated.

With respect to the public sector, the Prime Minister said that government would be carrying out a systematic energy efficiency programme which would include retro fitting government buildings to save on energy use. To date, he disclosed, some 15 buildings had been audited.

Furthermore, Mr. Stuart said Government would be seeking to enter into strategic partnerships with energy service companies which wanted to lease the space of Government-owned buildings for the generation of electricity from these buildings and the sale of the excess electricity to the grid.

Other initiatives, he noted included a US$2 million Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Programme (CHENACT), of which Barbados contributes US$160,000. The project, Mr. Stuart explained, seeks to promote energy efficiency in the hotel industry in the Caribbean.

"The CHENACT has generated important results for Barbados, since more than 65 of our hotels were audited. The results demonstrated a potential energy efficiency savings for the hotel sector in Barbados of up to 32,600-megawatts hours per year; 36 per cent of total hotel sector electricityconsumption, and nine per cent of the total electricity consumption in Barbados. All hotels audited to date, have potential savings [of] between 40 to 50 per cent in water, and 30 to 50 per cent in energy usage," he outlined.

The Prime Minister continued: "…Part of this expansion of CHENACT will assist our hotels to prepare full proposals, to secure investment funds to execute their project, to reduce their use of electricity, as well as to meet some of their own electricity needs through renewable energy installations."

Government is also planning to embark on a National Phase-Out Plan for Inefficient Lighting to promote the proper disposal of incandescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps and other lighting devices as part of its energy efficient programme.

cathy.lashley@barbados.gov.bb

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