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| Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Energy, Senator Darcy Boyce (FP)?? |
A government minister is calling for greater research into the area of renewable energy, and he has suggested that the IDEAS Energy Innovation Contest may be the vehicle to "jump start" the creative juices among budding energy enthusiasts across the island.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Energy, Senator Darcy Boyce, made this call today while addressing the launch of the Barbados leg of the competition at the Savannah Hotel, Hastings, Christ Church.
He said greater accessibility to research and development in energy innovation would redound to the benefit of all countries. "The more research and development there is occurring in countries, the greater the likelihood that what we are trying to achieve through IDEAS will be forthcoming.?? … Senator Boyce said.
The Minister alluded to the role the University of the West Indies could play in this effort. "We have a University which operates throughout the region … I would like to see us move to the stage where we can support?? the University of the West Indies to enhance their research and development capabilities in energy efficiency, if we are going to continue to generate the ideas to further the island’s renewable energy industry," Senator Boyce affirmed.
Meanwhile, Project Manager with Global Village Energy Partnership International (GVEP), Leighton Waterman, said participants could be among the winners who could secure up to US$200,000 per project for their ???bright ideas’.
He said that the deadline for the receipt of entries was April 30, and only one project must be submitted per applicant through the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) webpage http://www.iadb.org/ideas.
The IDEAS competition is sponsored by the IDB, GVEP, the Korean Government and UKAid from the Department for International Development (DIFID).