Future of T&T energy sector includes renewable energy, hydrogen and natural gas

Future of T&T energy sector includes renewable energy, hydrogen and natural gas

The Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Honourable Stuart Young gave some insight into the government’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in T&T in an exclusive interview with EnergyNow.

Minister Young acknowledged the need to decarbonize and to continue to meet international standards and trade requirements, but he restated that Trinidad and Tobago continues to globally advocate for the continued use of natural gas.

He said “Natural gas will be around for decades to come as it is the cleanest burning fossil fuel. The technology is consistently improving, which leads to less emissions and cleaner burning natural gas.”

In addition, he said, “In Trinidad and Tobago we have been working hard to identify methane leaks which have been identified as one of the worst sources of emissions. We are also working with the stakeholders of Trinidad and Tobago's energy sector to look at carbon capture utilization and storage, along with other technologies that may be available for reduction in emissions. We are also pushing the continued and increased use of renewable energy into our power grid.”

One of the emerging issues around decarbonization is the rise in Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM). These measures are intended to act as a tariff which is applied to imports of some carbon intensive commodities entering markets through importation. The EU has already begun implementation of a CBAM, and other countries are exploring this mechanism, like the UK and US which are critical export markets for T&T downstream energy products like methanol, ammonia and LNG.

Minister Young said that the government of Trinidad and Tobago is cognizant of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms which are being introduced by the EU. He said “In fact, I went to the EU Commission in Brussels to engage with the director in charge of CBAM. It was here, meaningful dialogue on the fair implementation of these carbon border adjustment mechanisms, took place.

Trinidad and Tobago is also actively engaged in implementing national greenhouse gas emission reporting mechanisms. Currently, the government does not require mandatory reporting, but it is done on a voluntary basis. This is being done with the view that we will continue to meet international trade requirements.”

One of the critical pathways to reduce emissions in the petrochemical sector is through the use of hydrogen. The Minister shared that the Cabinet has approved our first green hydrogen project, which has been initiated by our state agency National Energy and will also involve NGC Green.

“We are also right now looking at the possibility of pursuing a second green hydrogen project between the NGC group and the HDF Company out of Europe” he added.

The Cabinet has also approved further studies to pursue wind energy in Trinidad and Tobago by approving a Wind Resource Assessment Programme towards large scale development of Wind Energy.

We share a collective vision that Trinidad and Tobago's infrastructure is perfect for future hydrogen production and utilization.

To drive the hydrogen economy more renewable energy is needed. The Minister said the country is in the process of preparing another RFP for renewable energy and in particular for solar energy, which he hopes to be taken to Cabinet within the next month. The first RFP which was launched in 2017 led to the development of the largest solar plant in the Caribbean – the project, located in Brechin Castle, is currently under construction.

The Cabinet has also approved further studies to pursue wind energy in Trinidad and Tobago by approving a Wind Resource Assessment Programme towards large scale development of Wind Energy. We share a collective vision that Trinidad and Tobago's infrastructure is perfect for future hydrogen production and utilization.

The Minister said the new RFP is envisaged for solar; however, he said that he sees wind energy playing a very important role in the future of a green hydrogen economy.

Lastly, we asked the Minister about the role of carbon capture and storage in T&T’s decarbonization strategy and he said, “We are currently in the final phase of producing a CCUS policy. Trinidad and Tobago believes that CCUS is feasible and that we're perfectly poised, for example, at our Point Lisas estate in working with local midstream and downstream stakeholders to capture carbon, to either utilize it or store it in abandoned wells; which is currently being studied.”

Minister Young highlighted several key areas of priority for the government to decarbonize the energy sector while still going after natural gas resources. This echoes some of the major upstream companies’ stance that the discussion around renewables and natural gas is not an “or” discussion, but an “and” discussion. This means that renewables and natural gas can be developed at the same time, since there are many synergies that can be developed and lead toward a low carbon future.