By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government signed a $9m non-reimbursable financing agreement with the European Union and Inter-Development Bank yesterday to assist with renewable energy reform in the country.

The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance yesterday and attended by Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis along with IDB and EU representatives, Daniela Carrera-Marquis and Marianne Van Steen.

Speaking at yesterday’s event, Ms Carrera-Marquis from the Inter-Development Bank (IDB) said the grant will allow for the construction of several solar energy projects throughout The Bahamas.

One such project includes the installation of two micro grids in Abaco, thereby improving the island’s electricity infrastructure which suffered damage after Hurricane Dorian.

It is expected that the initiative will benefit between 13,000 to 17,000 residents on the island.

“The grant money has been analysed to support two micro grids in Abaco for electricity generation capacity and also for storage capacity,” she said. “This will allow Abaco to have not only a new source of energy that is renewable but in a more resilient manner in case so far as new natural disasters were to occur.”

The grant will also fund similar solar energy projects in New Providence, she said, adding it “will also finance training activities in the solar industry to foster local participation.”

Yesterday, Mr Halkitis hailed the signing ceremony and said it indicates government’s commitment to reduce the use of fossil fuel and to promote solar energy.

He also said the move brings the country one step closer to fulfilling its goal of 30 percent renewable energy penetration by 2030.

“Today, the EU and IDB are providing financial assistance of approximately $9m in grant funds to assist in transforming a plan for renewable energy into reality,” Mr Halkitis said. “The support is indeed timely, especially when one considers the current geopolitical circumstances that are impacting fuel prices and invariably an increase in the price of goods and services.

“Procrastination cannot continue, as stakeholders, including government, must act now by channelling more resources to address the clean energy industry and means to engender a green environment.”

Ms Van Steen also spoke at the signing ceremony, saying officials were “motivated” to partner with the IDB to facilitate the loan after seeing the devastation left behind following Hurricane Dorian.

“(The grant) will not also be about reconstruction, but about building a climate resilient renewable energy infrastructure here in The Bahamas and let me tell you that I do think that this area, the fight against climate change and the role that renewable energy plays into that is something where the European Union and The Bahamas can really find each other,” she said.

This comes as concerns mount locally about rising energy and fuel costs sparked from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Over the weekend, fuel prices crossed the $6 threshold at two major providers in the country, with Rubis now at $6.33 and Esso at $6.16.

“We know what has happened in recent times with the unrest and that brings to immediacy the fact that we need to be concentrating more on renewables,” Mr Halkitis said yesterday.

“Minus any sort of geopolitical disruption, we can expect to see fuel prices go higher and approach $200 (a barrel) in the next 20 to 25 years just because the cheap sources will be depleted and it becomes more difficult to mine it and so that even makes it more important what we’re doing here today.”

Asked yesterday if the government plans to bring about any immediate relief to Bahamians in view of the situation, the minister reiterated his previous position that there was not much the government can do in that regard.

“There’s not much we can do given our economy and the fact that we’re still emerging from a COVID- 19 pandemic that has devastated our economy and a lot of other economies and it has caused a significant run up in the debt in The Bahamas and so we are managing our way out of it and hopeful that the volatility that we’ve seen will normalise in the shorter rather than the longer term.”

He also reiterated that the government was not considering cutting the rate of taxation on fuel imports to help keep costs down as some places like Barbados have done.

“We are not unsympathetic. We are very sympathetic because the nature of our economy is rising energy prices impact the cost of transportation. We import most of what we produce so that means that price impact will be felt through that. The price of gas at the pump for individuals and taxi drivers and bus drivers and all of that and so we are quite aware but we have to look at everything in complete context of our financial sustainability and building headroom coming out of this pandemic,” the minister added.