The EU Delegation to Barbados attended the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum 2015 (CREF)[1], the largest annual gathering of the Caribbean energy market. Revelle provided assistance in presenting the latest EU know-how and expertise in the conference panel dedicated to the topic of ocean energy.
An overview for Ocean Energy Resources in the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) was undertaken. OECS is a geo-political region comprised of 9 members and 2 associate members, which are all island nations. The report highlights the importance of ocean energy (OE) which is also referred to as marine energy, as a high-impact option for Caribbean island states and territories for achieving and guaranteeing the efficiency and security of energy supply. However, up-to-date no assessment has ever been done to ascertain where and what are the concrete potentials in the region. The absence of such information hinders any sound and comprehensive development of ocean energy technologies despite the enormous potentials and constitutes a missing opportunity.
Another outcome of the assignment was a review of the current status of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Caribbean. The document offers an overview of the latest EU technical know-how, expertise and experience on ocean energy conversion technology. It also aims at identifying financial mechanisms for public‐private partnerships investments in renewable energy as well as at sharing experience and encouraging knowledge transfer between the EU and Caribbean policymakers to increase the visibility of the EU cooperation with the Caribbean.
[1] The Forum was held from 19th to 21st October 2015 in Miami, USA.
