Dr. Kathrin Goldammer übernimmt Geschäftsführung des Reiner Lemoine Instituts
8. Januar 20161st international Community Electricity Storage Workshop (iCES)
22. Februar 2016Barriers and solutions to implementing renewable energies on Caribbean islands in respect of technical, economic, political, and social conditions
Philipp Blechinger
Dissertation
99 % of the electricity supply on Caribbean islands is currently provided by fossil fuel based
power plants which is very expensive and polluting. The use of renewable energy technologies
can be a cost-effective and sustainable solution to these problems. Implementing renewable
energies has been rather slow despite sufficient natural resources. This has guided the two
main research questions of this PhD thesis: (1) What is the techno-economic potential for
renewable energies on Caribbean islands and (2) which barriers and solutions exist in the
utilization of this potential?
Firstly, a technical analysis was conducted based on a self-developed island energy supply
model. 60 of the 62 analyzed islands demonstrate high to very high techno-economic potential
for implementing renewable energies. The optimal renewable energy share is 45 % as opposed
to the current 1 %, which would result in a decrease in LCOE from 0.30 to 0.22 USD/kWh and
the added benefit of a 22m tons per year decrease in CO2 emissions. Initial investments of
35bn USD are required to reach the optimized renewable capacities in GW: 0.8 hydro, 8.8 PV,
6.3 wind, and 0.5 geothermal plus 3,120 MWh of battery storage.
Empirical analyses were conducted to answer the second research question. The most
important barriers are distributed among three main clusters. The 1st cluster is regulatory
frameworks and policies, for example lack of regulatory framework and legislation for
private investors. The 2nd is costs and financing, of which high initial investments is the most
important barrier. The 3rd cluster is the clout of conventional power suppliers. To overcome
these barriers most crucial are improvements to the regulatory frameworks, incentives such
as a ‚ “renewable fuel surcharge”, and financing options.