The Renewable Energy Industry in CARIFORUM Countries

INTRODUCTION | CARIBBEAN EXPORT APPROACH TO RE INDUSTRY | REPORTING

Export approach due to the nature of the MSMEs’ operations.

be a primary consideration for MSMEs in most countries. Other Business and Personal Activities Residential activities and businesses which engage in highly specialized activities or large-scale operations are represented in this final category of energy consumption. As an example, specialized operations in the MSME sector may include laundries which convert a traditional energy source to heat in water and may benefit from solar water heating (SWH). Unfortunately, laundry MSMEs in our economies, are not direct exporters of their services. However, SWH firms do export their products and would therefore benefit from general support for EE promotion. Additionally, other specialized operations may include large operations like sugar, rice or wood mills which may benefit from co-generation (COGEN) which is most beneficial within larger operations. Residential consumption is not the direct focus of this study, but they will benefit alongside MSMEs from a vibrant RE Industry.

The importance of each consumption category to the MSMEs in the CARIFORUM region is examined briefly below. Regionally, we observe a relatively even distribution of energy consumption across the three main categories previously mentioned; a) electricity generation at power plants, b) transportation and c) other business and personal activities. Electricity Generation Electricity consumption is common to all MSMEs in the region. It therefore contributes to the cost of 100% of these businesses even though their level of consumption will vary. In most cases it represents a significant portion of the overall operating cost and would therefore have a significant impact on their competitiveness at home and abroad. RE generation, EE products and services like training and process engineering in relation to electricity related activities, would be very relevant to this study. Transportation Outside of the public transportation system and private transportation, some MSMEs incur a transportation cost which is related to the delivery of products and services to clients. However less than 5% of MSMEs are involved in providing a transportation service and these are candidates for the use of biofuels and electric vehicles (EVs) charged by RE. Without the use of RE charging ports, EVs have no significant impact on the global and national agenda but may still positively impact MSME costs and competitiveness if there is a disparity between the cost of petroleum-based fuels and the cost of electricity. Given the high landed cost of EVs however, this sub-sector may not a) b)

c)

1.6 | REPORTING

After the analysis was completed, the report was compiled and structured as follows.

• Chapter 1.0 Introduction • Chapter 2.0 Research Methodology • Chapter 3.0 RE Industry Stakeholder Relationships Assessment • Chapter 4.0 Country Indicator Analysis • Chapter 5.0 Recommendations and Conclusion • References • Appendix A – Renewable Energy Course Information

The Renewable Energy Industry in CARIFORUM Countries

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