In 2023, Barbados relied on fossil fuels for about 92% of its electricity consumption, while low-carbon electricity supplied just over 8%, entirely from solar. Gas accounted for roughly 3% of total electricity consumption and was included in the fossil-fuel share. This leaves substantial room to expand clean electricity and reduce the climate-changing emissions and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Barbados?

The figures show progress in clean electricity, but do not establish whether total electricity consumption grew compared with the previous year. Electricity consumption reached about 3,900 kWh per person in 2023, roughly 184 kWh, or 5%, below the record set in 2012. That shortfall is concerning as electrification and AI create additional electricity needs. Encouragingly, low-carbon generation reached a new high of 319 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record of 284 kWh in 2021 by about 12%.

Suggestions

Barbados should prioritize expanding solar electricity, supported by storage and grid upgrades. Relevant island examples include Cyprus and the US state of Hawaii, where solar supplies about 23% of electricity—almost three times Barbados’s share. Cape Verde, with wind supplying 14%, also offers a useful island reference for exploring complementary wind generation. Barbados should also consider nuclear electricity through a country-specific feasibility assessment, drawing on the planning and operational experience of places such as France, where nuclear supplies about two-thirds of electricity. These examples demonstrate several pathways toward a much larger clean electricity supply.

History

From 2014 through 2023, the supplied historical series records annual changes in solar generation of 0 TWh throughout. At the precision reported, it therefore shows no measurable year-to-year increases across that decade—a disappointing picture given the need for faster clean electricity expansion. However, these rounded figures do not prove that solar generation was entirely unchanged: small additions can disappear when expressed in TWh. The record low-carbon generation per person in 2023 provides a separate, encouraging sign of progress, although more precise generation data would be needed to describe its annual development.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade