The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will today launch a programme to improve the use of energy in buildings across the region.
The Regional Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) will be launched at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.
The launch follows the introduction of BEEPs at the CARICOM Secretariat in December 2014, and at the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission in August 2015.
The BEEPS are being done to address the dependence on fossil fuels and economic vulnerability as a result of the inefficient energy use in buildings in the Community.
With energy efficiency as a priority of the CARICOM Energy Policy and the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS), a collaborative approach was developed to target energy use in building.
The Regional Collaboration for Efficient Energy Use in Buildings (RCEEB) was spearheaded by the CARICOM Energy Unit and the CARICOM Regional Organizations for Standards and Quality (CROSQ). Regional and international partners are also supporting the project within the overall framework of the RCEEB.
Out of this initiative, the BEEP in the CARICOM Secretariat was conceived and developed as a pilot for a Regional Programme. The underlying strategy was to achieve improved use of energy in buildings by adopting an energy management system. That system is based on the international standard for energy management, ISO50001, and the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures within the framework of the energy management system.
The BEEPS at the Secretariat and the OECS Commission have been supported with technical assistance from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenabeit GmbH (GIZ) through the Renewable Energy Efficiency and Technical Assistance (REETA) project.
The launch aims to share the experiences of the BEEPS at the CARICOM Secretariat and the OECS Commission with the new participating parties that have indicated a commitment to improved energy use in their respective buildings using the BEEP approach. During the launch, the Regional BEEP Programme Document with Operational Guidelines – which outlines the concept, processes and framework, and the importance of implementing an energy management system in buildings – will be presented.
The Regional BEEP Programme will be implemented and expanded over the next five years by CARICOM through the Energy Unit with the technical support of development partners such as the GIZ, the European Union (EU) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The incorporation of more energy efficient solutions as well as renewable energy technologies within the framework of an energy management system in buildings will not only benefit the respective institutions economically but also the Region.
The project launch follows the observance of CARICOM Energy Month in November.
Source: Caribbean 360