News Sustainable Energy Social Improvement
2 min.
Over the past few months and indeed years, the question of sustainable energy in the Caribbean Netherlands has been a hot topic for politicians, policy makers and other decision-makers in the region. On paper, the Dutch Caribbean represents a perfect case for the generation and usage of sustainable energy, but in reality, the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Statia are still some way off becoming greener and more self-sustained in terms of the energy production their communities require. After all, sustainable energy is not only a way for the region to better preserve its magnificent natural environment, but also to considerably reduce its dependence on the expensive import of energy from elsewhere.
Major step in the right direction
Despite the slow progress over the past years, a major step in the right direction has recently been taken by the central Dutch government. In a considerable effort to support its ambitions of making the Caribbean Netherlands an international showcase for sustainable development, €33,6 million has been dedicated to speeding up the region’s energy transition. With this money, within three years, about 80% of all electricity in Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius will be generated by wind and solar energy.
“I’m very happy that we’ve managed to take this important step towards sustainable electricity generation together with the Island Councils and the energy companies”, said Rob Jetten, Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy (Energie en Klimaat), about the investment, “This will result in a considerable decrease in CO2 emissions, less dependency of the Caribbean Netherlands on fossil fuels and consequently, less vulnerability to high energy prices like the ones we’re seeing at the moment. This will turn the Caribbean Netherlands into a showcase for the sustainable development of other small islands in the region”.
Where is the money going?
€33,6 million is a big investment for a relatively small region, so a rather quick impact is expected. As we wrote earlier, the stakeholders expect the money to lead to a Dutch Caribbean region running on sustainable energy 80% of the time by 2025. That’s a great and ambitious objective, but where is the money actually going?
- Bonaire
A new solar farm and a new wind farm, plus a solar battery, run by electricity company Contour Global and the partly public company BBT (Bonaire Brandstof Terminals), supported by a subsidy for BBT. These works are planned to be finished by 2025, by which time about 80% of all electricity in Bonaire will be generated from sustainable sources.
- Saba
Besides the two solar parks that already exist on the island, the local government is exploring the option of building a combined solar-wind park. The goal would be to have the entire island running on sustainable energy sources within two years and to only address fossil fuel generators when there is not sufficient sun or wind available.
- Statia
The existing solar farm and battery storage facilities will be expanded by Statia Utility Company, which should lead to about 60% of all electricity on the island coming from sustainable sources by 2024. The next target would be to bring that total up to 80%.
The basis for this article was originally published on www.rijksoverheid.nl and others in October 2022.
