Key Highlights From Energy Efficiency Workshop in Grenada

The CARICOM Secretariat and the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality partnered with the Grenada Bureau of Standards to jointly host a Workshop on Energy Efficiency Standards and Regulations in Buildings in St. George’s, Grenada from July 13th to 15th, 2016.

The CARICOM Secretariat and the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) partnered with the Grenada Bureau of Standards (GDBS) to jointly host a Workshop on Energy Efficiency Standards and Regulations in Buildings in St. George’s, Grenada from July 13th to 15th, 2016.

With the aim of establishing benchmarks for the energy performance of buildings in the form of agreed Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), and the provision of a firm basis for the development of a Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code (REEBC), this Workshop brought together over forty (40) of the Caribbean’s best and brightest. They included technical representatives from various regional standards organizations, researchers, energy industry stakeholders, educators, and policy-makers from Jamaica, the Bahamas, Montserrat, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname, Grenada, Haiti, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Considered a success by the organizers, facilitators, and attendees, the aims and objectives of the workshop were certainly met, facilitated through engaging, exciting, and thought-provoking presentations, discussions, and group interactions. According to CROSQ’s CEO Mr. Deryck Omar, “We also recognize the importance of development of standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy as it enables us as a region to meet our obligations under international agreements, meeting millennium goals and reducing carbon footprint; as well as relieving pressure on our governments as it relates to economic transformation, providing for energy independence and security.”

Some highlights from the workshop’s many interactions included;

  • The major factors which influence energy consumption within the Caribbean: climate, the building stock or classification of buildings, and the fact that a significant portion of our energy use comes from the equipment used within them
  • Considerations of performance-based (also known as outcome-based) codes versus prescriptive codes.
  • Challenges and opportunities for the development and implementation of a regional building code, incorporating various aspects of research and development, funding, alignment to sustainable development goals, and training.
  • Key differences between energy conservation and energy efficiency
  • How indoor air quality can impact the energy consumption and efficiency of Caribbean buildings
  • Adopting a data driven approach to how we define energy efficiency standards
  • Issues and challenges in formulating and implementing voluntary or mandatory codes and standards
  • How the economically challenged can be included within any energy efficiency initiatives throughout the Caribbean
  • Which codes should be used in the development of a regional code. We looked at the International Building Code (IBC), International Code Council (ICC), International Green Construction Code (IgCC)
  • Barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency standards and codes for buildings and some of the various strategies which can be employed to overcome them
  • The challenges and issues associated with regional regulations, laws, and policies which govern energy generation, distribution, and use
  • Short term opportunities such as professional certifications, climate zones, minimum energy performance (MEPS) levels, building typologies, deployment, the use of building energy disclosures and energy certificates, identification of sustainable financial mechanisms for the implementation of building permissions, energy information hosting, financial mechanisms, and investment risk reductions which can all be leveraged

As development of the regional energy codes and standards continue, the Trinidad and Tobago Green Building Council (TTGBC) will endeavor to provide updates and open up channels for further discussion and feedback.