In an exclusive revelation by Barbados TODAY, a landmark $350 million 24/7 hybrid renewable energy project is set to reshape Barbados’ energy landscape, bringing with it a groundbreaking opportunity for local ownership and long-term price stability, even as it sets straight common misconceptions about immediate consumer cost savings.
The project is being advanced by Renewstable (Barbados) Inc. (RSB), a special-purpose independent power producer created specifically to deliver clean, consistent energy to the Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC), the island’s national grid operator. Currently, RSB holds a 49% stake split between France-based HDF Energy, while Caribbean energy firm Rubis Caribbean Holdings Inc. owns 51% of the venture. Critically, the development will reserve a minimum of 30% equity for domestic Barbadian entities, with ongoing discussions already underway with key local institutions including the national credit union movement and the National Insurance Scheme. Once construction begins, targeted for between the end of 2024 and early 2025, the facility will operate under a 25-year fixed power purchase agreement with BLPC to supply continuous energy to the island’s grid.
At the center of the regulatory process right now is a tariff approval application before the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), the island’s utility regulator, which will set the rate BLPC pays for RSB’s energy. In a recent ruling on a confidentiality request from RSB, the FTC rejected most of the developer’s bid to keep application details private during the public consultation period, a decision RSB has already moved to comply with. Aidan Rogers, the project’s strategic advisor and former president of the Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA), confirmed the company has released all non-confidential information to the FTC and all participating intervenors as of the previous Wednesday, with only a small subset of genuinely sensitive information kept restricted to the regulator. The FTC has committed to releasing its final tariff ruling by June 2025.
Rogers addressed widespread public confusion around what the project will mean for residential and commercial electricity consumers, pushing back on the common assumption that renewable energy automatically translates to immediately lower monthly bills. “There is this misconception that renewables automatically translate into cheaper costs. They don’t necessarily. What they do is that they allow you not to see volatile spikes in your light bill up and down,” Rogers explained. He emphasized that the core consumer benefit is long-term price certainty, not an immediate 5 to 10% drop in monthly bills. When the project was first conceived five years ago, it was designed to meet roughly 6% of Barbados’ total energy demand, but recent growth in the island’s tourism sector, driven by a wave of new hotel developments, has pushed overall energy demand higher. As a result, Rogers noted the project’s actual share of total supply is now more likely to land between 3% and 4%, meaning the immediate direct impact on consumer bills will be nearly negligible.
Far beyond immediate cost changes, Rogers framed the project as a critical milestone in Barbados’ ongoing energy transition toward a cleaner, more locally anchored energy system. The facility will include 120 megawatts of battery storage, allowing it to deliver consistent power around the clock unlike intermittent renewable sources that depend on weather conditions. Unlike fossil fuel-based power generation, which is tied to volatile global oil prices affected by geopolitical shocks such as the ongoing Iran crisis, the project’s tariff will be fixed for its entire 25-year operational life, eliminating exposure to global energy market swings. When the country pays for imported fossil fuels, all profits flow to overseas suppliers, but the 30% local ownership structure means economic benefits from the project will remain within Barbados, supporting domestic institutions that provide benefits to local residents through pension schemes and cooperative financial systems.
As the regulatory process moves forward, intervenors have been granted additional time to submit new comments on the tariff application following the release of previously redacted information. Rogers stressed that time is critical for the project, as the development team is working to preserve low-cost concessional financing secured from the Green Climate Fund in 2023. The team is pushing for a timely decision from the FTC in May to stay on track for construction, with the regulator’s formal deadline set for early June. Rogers added that this is the first large-scale independent renewable energy project to go through the island’s tariff application process outside of existing feed-in tariff or competitive bidding programs, meaning the regulatory ruling will set important precedent for future clean energy developments in Barbados, enriching the island’s regulatory framework for years to come.