fp Turks and Caicos

The Turks and Caicos Islands government and residents need to take steps to deal with climate change and adopt sustainable energy practices, according to nationwide public presentations on climate change and a draft nationwide energy policy.

The TCI Climate Change Green Paper, produced and presented by the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources, presents the dire consequences that TCI faces in the wake of climactic change, including increased freshwater shortages, sea level rise, storm damage, coral reef bleaching events, fisheries disruption and the spread of disease.

Because of its small size and carbon footprint, the TCI can do little to affect climate change, but it must act to adapt to the effects of global climactic disruption that are sure to occur as the industrialized and developing world continues along the status quo, said DECR Deputy Director Jewel Batchasingh.

Strategies for adapting to the economic and ecological consequences of climate change include encouraging sustainable fishing practices and adequate enforcement, adopting greener technologies for energy production, and revising and upgrading building and planning codes. Significant barriers to these strategies include lack of government funding and scarce community concern and involvement.

Electricity Commissioner Malike Cummings and Gianmarco Servetti of Castalia Strategic Advisors have also been presenting a draft national energy conservation policy and implementation strategy for the TCI.

Servetti said PPC Ltd. and Turks and Caicos Utilities have succeeded in providing reliable, appropriately charged electricity to the TCI, despite geographical isolation and the lack of domestic fossil fuel resources. According to Castalia’s analysis of the energy companies of Barbados, Grenada and Dominica, the electricity charges and generation capabilities maintained by PPC and TCU’s put the TCI in good standing among its island neighbors.

Servetti identified ways that residential and commercial users of electricity can invest in efficient electrical appliances and how the government and utilities can encourage and educate residents on ways to conserve energy and use technologies that save money and electricity in the short and long term.

The presentation highlighted inexpensive, effective energy solutions that, although in wide use in neighboring countries, are nonexistent in TCI. Such technologies included energy efficient lighting, refrigeration, and solar water heaters.

Both climate and energy presenters said the country’s building codes need to be overhauled to make it compulsory for new construction to be as sturdy and energy efficient as possible.

Another problem is that there are no established development guidelines for renewable energy assessments and installations, which has resulted in projects such as TCU’s proposed wind farm on Grand Turk and Salt Cay to be denied commencement by the government. Even though a contract was awarded for a landfill gas energy project on Providenciales four years ago, the lack of policies concerning renewable and alternative energy projects and a history of bureaucratic inefficiency have kept the project on indefinite hold.

Castalia’s report also emphasized the need to update the grid code and metering rules to allow for distributed and utility scale investments in renewable energy generation. At present, if a commercial facility or residence installs its own electricity producing equipment, such as a small wind turbine or a photovoltaic array, it has no way to connect to the grid.

With luck and persuasive action by residents and businesses, the government will be influenced to adopt the DECR’s important climate change adaptation strategies along with the regulatory modifications presented in Castalia’s comprehensive report so that the TCI can progress along a cleaner, greener, more cost-effective path into the future.

Some of suggested actions in TCI Energy Policy
1. Adopt an Energy Conservation Policy
2. Revise Electricity Ordinance to create legal and regulatory framework for sustainable energy
3. Develop rules for selling renewable energy to the grid
4. Set obligation for PPC, TCU to purchase power from third parties at below avoided cost
5. Prepare Grid Code for interconnection of distributed renewable generation
6. Access Wind energy potential
7. Revise Building Code and Development Manual to include EE and solar water heating

Click here to read the Climate Change Green Paper

Click here to read the complete TCI Energy Policy Draft