Energy Cafe: Decentralizing a SIDS' grid

Hosted by Chima Michael Anyadike-Danes

As the 2010s began fossil fuels were the source of all the electricity that flowed through Barbados’ grid. The small West Indian nation’s most significant fuel source was Bunker C. This heavy fuel oil has the consistency of tar and is more normally associated with the maritime sector. Yet, as the decade wore on a remarkable transformation occurred - the proportion of Barbados’ electricity originating from renewable sources grew exponentially. Currently they satisfy more than 10% of the island’s electricity needs.

A grid-tied solar rush was the cause of this profound change. Across the nation people had solar PV systems installed on their roofs and solar farms were established in the grounds of former sugar plantations. However, eventually the rush came to a juddering halt and for two years in the 2020s there was a moratorium on the installation of any new grid-tied solar.

In this presentation informed by ongoing fieldwork in Barbados, Chima examines how various stakeholders explicated the solar rush and stall, and what they believe it portended for the future. In doing so he engages with and contribute to a scholarly literature exploring the nature of explanations.

About the Speaker

Chima is a Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter in Hochschule Merseburg’s Fachbereich Soziale Arbeit.Medien.Kultur. His research focuses on transitions, imaginaries and future-making, and for the past several years he has been involved in several research projects studying energy transitions. Currently Chima is part of Merseburg’s Energy: Digital and Decentral. Members of this interdisciplinary research group are studying electrical grids’ decentralisation and digitalization. Chima’s own research interests are in developments occurring on the Caribbean island of Barbados.