In 2018, about 71% of Curaçao’s electricity consumption came from fossil fuels, entirely oil, while almost 30% came from low-carbon sources. Wind supplied about 27% of electricity, making it the island’s main clean electricity source, while solar contributed roughly 2%. This means Curaçao already had a substantial low-carbon foundation, but oil still supplied more than two-thirds of its electricity, leaving considerable scope to reduce fossil-fuel use and its associated climate and air-pollution impacts.

Is Electricity Growing in Curaçao?

Curaçao’s electricity consumption per person was not growing relative to its historical peak. In 2018, it stood at about 4,770 kWh per person, down roughly 3,670 kWh—or 43%—from the 2010 record of about 8,440 kWh. That substantial decline is concerning as electrification and future demand call for more electricity. Clean electricity, however, showed encouraging growth: low-carbon generation reached about 1,390 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record of roughly 1,120 kWh in 2017 by about 280 kWh, or 25%. These per-person figures do not establish whether total island-wide electricity consumption increased or decreased.

Suggestions

Curaçao should expand its established wind generation while accelerating solar deployment and considering how nuclear electricity could support its long-term clean electricity ambitions. Denmark and the US state of Iowa demonstrate wind’s potential, each generating about 57% of its electricity from wind. For solar, island settings offer particularly relevant examples: Cyprus and the US state of Hawaii each generate about 23% of their electricity from solar, while Cape Verde generates about 14%. Curaçao can study their deployment approaches to build on its much smaller solar share. Nuclear also deserves consideration: France generates about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, while the United Arab Emirates generates about one-fifth. These examples illustrate nuclear’s substantial contribution to low-carbon electricity, although any Curaçao proposal would need an island-specific assessment of scale and implementation.

History

The reported history shows intermittent progress in Curaçao’s low-carbon electricity generation. From 1993 through 2000, the listed annual changes in wind generation rounded to zero, followed by an increase of about 0.1 TWh in 2001. The next listed observation, in 2008, again showed no change at the reported precision. Wind added another 0.1 TWh in 2013, while the listed wind changes from 2014 through 2017 and solar changes from 2013 through 2016 rounded to zero. In 2018, wind generation increased by another 0.1 TWh, marking a welcome renewed advance. Overall, the supplied observations show clean electricity growth arriving in distinct steps, with intervening periods of limited recorded progress that underscore the value of sustained expansion.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade