Throughout the Caribbean islands demographic pressure and the corresponding energy requirements place the building sector, along with transportation, at the core of the challenges of energy transition.
Energy efficiency has been the focus of attention in the building sector. For example, in 2018, the CROSQ (CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality), created the CARICOM Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code (CREEBC). Also, the OECS released a 6th edition of its Building Code in 2016.
We still observe the following issues at the Caribbean level:
- It remains difficult to put into practice new building methods and techniques ;
- Governments have difficulty assessing the impact of public policies on energy consumption ;
- It is still difficult to determine and share best practices and feedback at regional level.
In this context, one of the goals of the ETC INTERREG programme is to share with partner States Guadeloupe's experience of the past 10 years in the field of energy efficient buildings. The ultimate aim of this work package is to encourage the development of public policies that support energy transition, facilitate the implementation and assessment of such policies, and standardise measures across the different Caribbean countries.
The different activities relating to the energy efficiency of buildings are as follows:
- Production of a handbook of Energy building Standards used in Guadeloupe (Réglementation Thermique de Guadeloupe) for the benefit of OECS Member States.
- Study on the energy efficiency of tertiary-sector buildings, for OECS Member States.
- Setting up of a qualifying training course in energy management, for the benefit of key staff in OECS countries.
- A démonstration project with follow-up work and assessment of practical measures relating to the energy efficiency of OECS tertiary-sector buildings.
- A pilot project on energy resilience for critical infrastructure, through the installation of solar systems in OECS countries.
