PROJECTS

Designing PPPs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Barbados

The problem

The Government of Barbados had an opportunity to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy PPP projects by using retrofits of public facilities. These projects would replace fossil fuels and reduce electricity consumption by the public and private sector. However, the government needed help establishing a framework for procuring performance-based contracts. The IDB hired Castalia to help the Government of Barbados implement privately financed energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

How we helped

Castalia created a procurement strategy, designed performance-based contracts for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and delivered training to government staff on designing, structuring, and negotiating PPPs. We also developed a concept for a revolving performance-based contract scheme where savings from previously retrofitted buildings would be applied towards retrofitting new buildings—thereby making the scheme self-financing over time.

Impact

In 2019, the Government implemented this scheme to replace 28,000 streetlights with LED technology. It is estimated that the retrofit will result in annual energy cost savings of BDS$3.7 million and 50 percent reduction of energy consumption. In 2022, the Energy Efficient Retrofit of Public Streetlights project received an award for “Best Energy Efficiency Project” during the Caribbean Energy Conference Forum (CREF). The award recognizes the projects in the Caribbean energy sector that make a lasting impact on the development of resilient and renewable energy systems.