Barbados project wins Energy Globe Award

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) has won, for the third time, the coveted national ENERGY GLOBE Award (https://www.energyglobe.info/national/winner/barbados). This time, the award was conferred on a project funded by Green Climate Fund (GCF) that is being implemented in Barbados by the CCCCC, in collaboration with the Barbados Water Authority, a release from the agency states. The project entitled, Water Sector Resilience Nexus for Sustainability in Barbados (WSRN S-Barbados)- seeks to increase the supply, distribution, quality, availability, access, and utilization of water through the incorporation of renewable energy technologies.

Renowned as the most important global energy award for sustainability, by Arthur D. Little, the award was established 20 years ago, and honors the best projects addressing environmental issues. Awards are provided annually to agencies and individuals worldwide, in both the private and public sectors and the NGO Community. There are five award categories – Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Youth, and a special category which varies from year to year. The CCCCC won in the water category at the end of 2021 for its tremendous work transforming the water sector in Barbados.

“The WSRN S-Barbados project is a flagship GCF project being implemented by the CCCCC, a regional Direct Access Entity to the GCF and it is one of the best performing projects globally among Small Island Development States (SIDS)” says Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director at the CCCCC.

“We are honoured to have won this award; it demonstrates the capacity and experience of the CCCCC to develop and implement, in partnership with CARICOM Member States, innovative and transformative projects that build the climate resilience and sustainable development of our Caribbean people,” he added.

According to Dr. Elon Cadogan, Project Manager of the WSRN S-Barbados in a recent article, “With climate change, Barbados has experienced negative impacts to its water resources, where water scarcity has increased the vulnerability of its population, especially to small farmers, and entrepreneurs. During drought periods, the island has experienced decreasing underground recharge rates of its aquifers, which provide ninety-five percent (95%) of the island’s potable water.”

Droughts have also affected the agricultural sector by reducing crop yields and productivity, in addition to causing premature death of livestock and poultry.

In an effort to improve the water resilience of Barbados to the effects of climate change, the Government of Barbados and the CCCCC secured a grant of US$27.6 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in 2015. Combined, with the co-financing from the BWA, the total project will invest over US$45.2M to improve the water resilience of Barbados over five years. To date, the project has installed PV systems at the Bowmanston pumping station on the island, to be followed by installing additional PV systems at the Belle and Hampton pumping stations, thus providing renewable energy power to support the distribution of potable water to households and the surrounding distribution network, inclusive of farms and hurricane shelters. At the Belle pumping station, a station that supports most of the essential services, a natural gas micro-turbine will provide backup power on the possible occurrence of Utility grid failure.

The energy globe award is presented annually, with award ceremonies held nationally and internationally. More than 180 countries submit environmental projects for consideration.