Dominica: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Energy Minister Vince Henderson emphasised the urgent need for resilience and collaboration in the energy transition at Small Island Developing States (SIDS) platform during the International Solar Alliance (ISA) event in India. He highlighted the technological advancements that offer opportunities, to withstand the unique vulnerabilities of island nations.
While talking at ISA, Vince Henderson noted that over different generations, the sources of power have evolved from traditional fossil fuels to renewable technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal energy.
He explained that these transitions bring challenges. The major threat they face in Dominica is in having access to these technologies and ensuring that the systems they build are resilient to survive external effects.
Minister Henderson reminded the participants that what makes the Caribbean beautiful is its geographical area, climate and nature and the coastal exposure, also make it more prone to threats such as natural calamities as hurricanes. This calls for a strategic planning and collective approaches to energy development.
He emphasised that one of the solutions is pool procurement, which is a game-changer for small island economies. According to him, pool procurement helps with the availability of resources and ensures that smaller nations can access equipment and services at more competitive rates.
Considering this, Henderson recalled Dominica’s experience with geothermal development and said that no company wanted to come and dig one well, when the country was developing its geothermal project. This reflects the structural challenges that small nations face when operating independently in the global energy market. He expressed that they would face the same challenges with solar energy, if they don’t collaborate.
Vince Henderson made a strong appeal for collective action and urged SIDS members to embrace cooperative frameworks such as pooled procurement. He added that resilience must be the foundation upon which SIDS build their clean energy future.