The Barbados Model: A Success Story in 3 Acts

One of 45,000 solar thermal installations on the island of Barbados was installed at the Oistins Police Station in 2008. Photo: Solar Dynamics

270,000 inhabitants already benefit from the 45,000 solar water heating systems for private, public and commercial buildings on Barbados. Two out of five households on the island use solar energy to heat their water. This is a remarkable success for a solar market. Solarthermalworld.org spoke with William Hinds, senior technical officer from the Energy Division of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Energy of the island state, as well as James Husbands, founder and managing director of the collector manufacturer Solar Dynamics. “The challenge is to combine the necessary measures in the public and the commercial sector at the right time”, says Hinds. When looking back, he makes out three different phases the Barbados market has gone through.

Phase 1: Public and commercial sector working together to get the market started

Phase 2: Maintaining market growth to become a self-sufficient market

Phase 3: carrying the market success abroad

The three phases are explained in detail in the attached document.

More information:

Solar Dynamics: http://www.solardynamicsltd.com

Energy Division of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Energy
http://www.energy.gov.bb/energy

This article was written by Bärbel Epp in close cooperation with James Husbands and William Hinds.