Like many Caribbean countries, Trinidad & Tobago relies on fossil fuels for electricity generation. But unlike many of its neighbors, Trinidad & Tobago is a natural gas producer and exporter. The islands are among the leading natural gas producers in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the oil and gas industry is one of the biggest contributors to the country’s $27.5bn economy.
Trinidad & Tobago’s electricity market is controlled by the state-owned Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC), the sole transmission and distribution company in the country.
It buys electricity from independent power producers who, in 2014, generated 9.1TWh of electricity from natural gas. The Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs (MEEA) is in charge of monitoring, controlling and regulating the energy and mineral sector in Trinidad & Tobago.
In 2014, Trinidad & Tobago’s power matrix represented 2.3GW of installed capacity. The island nation relies on its own natural gas for energy, which represents 97% of total capacity. Oil and diesel accounted for the remaining share.
As a result of the availability of low cost fuels, the islands have some of the lowest electricity prices in Latin America and the Caribbean ($0.05/kWh), which dilutes the economic incentive to support renewable energy deployment.
On January 2011 the MEEA published its Renewable Energy Policy Framework, which makes recommendations and analysis of policies, technologies and targets for the deployment of renewable energy in Trinidad & Tobago. In 2011, two policy based loans totaling $140m were approved by the Inter-American Development Bank to support Trinidad & Tobago in the transition to a more sustainable energy matrix, incorporating energy efficiency and renewable energy and strengthening its policy framework to integrate climate change into national economic development. One of the outcomes of the financial aid is to be the “Green Paper for Energy Policy in Trinidad & Tobago”, a plan to restructure the energy sector regulatory framework and enact policies such as tax incentives for solar and wind power.
On 1 October 2014, the government launched the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Business Incubator. Aside from that, the only renewable energy policy currently in place in Trinidad & Tobago is a “wear and tear” tax allowance of 150% of the expenditure for plant, machinery, parts and materials for use in the manufacture of solar water heaters, the acquisition of solar water heaters, the acquisition of wind turbines and supporting equipment or the acquisition of solar photovoltaic systems and supporting equipment.
Score Summary
Trinidad & Tobago’s 0.57 overall score in Climatescope this year placed it 48th among all countries, up from 51st position last year, when it scored 0.54.
Trinidad & Tobago’s gain was largely tied to improvement on both the Financial Institutions in Clean Energy Indicator and the Value Chains by Clean Energy Sector Indicator of Low-Carbon Business & Clean Energy Value Chains Parameter III.
On Enabling Framework Parameter I, Trinidad & Tobago finished 52nd, up one place from last year.
On Clean Energy Investment and Climate Financing Parameter II, Trinidad & Tobago scored 0.63, down from 0.87 last year. Its Parameter II ranking was 22nd versus 14th last year.
On Low-Carbon Business & Clean Energy Value Chains Parameter III, Trinidad & Tobago’s 43rd-place finish was eight places above its 2014 position. The country’s 2015 and 2014 Parameter III scores were 0.95 and 0.63, respectively.
On Greenhouse Gas Management Activities Parameter IV, Trinidad & Tobago ranked 47th. Its 0.50 score is a slight improvement over last year’s 0.59, when it finished 45th.