University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2013-10-02 Drivers and Barriers to the Development of Renewable Energy Industries in the Caribbean Ince, Philip David Ince, P. D. (2013). Drivers and Barriers to the Development of Renewable Energy Industries in the Caribbean (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25750 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/1091 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY “Drivers and Barriers to the Development of Renewable Energy Industries in the Caribbean.” by Philip David Morgan Ince A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY INTERDISCIPLINARY GRADUATE PROGRAM CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2013 © Philip David Morgan Ince 2013 Abstract My research focused on determining the reasons for the lack of renewable energy development in the Caribbean.The research method consisted of mainly a qualitative case study as well as a quantitative survey. The results suggest that the main factors affecting development of technology are the level of entrepreneurship, impact of international agencies, influence of individual champions, formal and informal institutions. A questionnaire was developed to explore whether generalisations could be made over the 36 political jurisdictions that were included in the study. Multiple linear regression models and a correlation analysis were run that led me to speculate that there may be a link between level of entrepreneurship, influence of champions, informal institutions and intentions of a political jurisdiction to develop renewable energy projects as indicated in previous literature (Russo 2003, Espinoza and Vredenburg 2010 a and 2010b, Westley and Vredenburg, 1997). ii Acknowledgements There are many people, far too numerous to mention individually, who made invaluable contributions to this research. I will always be grateful to the late Prof. Oliver Headley who provided the inspiration for me to dedicate my career to the promotion and development of renewable energy. In terms of this study, first I need to thank my supervisor, Dr. Harrie Vredenburg, who has shared my dream of transforming the Caribbean with renewable energy, ever since he was my supervisor while I was doing my MSc Degree in Ecuador back in 2002. His guidance, direction and continued enthusiasm throughout the course of this study kept me motivated and much of what I have been able to achieve in this research is as a result of his influence. It was a pleasure to have him with me in the Caribbean while I conducted some of the interviews and site visits. Harrie has also played a role in forming the company Element Renewables Inc (ERI), where I am involved as part of a team seeking to take lessons learned in this research and apply them in viable commercial projects in the Caribbean. I am also indebted to other committee members, Dr. Brenda Kenny, Dr. Michal Moore and Prof. Tang Lee, who made sure I covered all the necessary bases in terms of the interdisciplinary nature of the study. I also thank Pauline Fisk in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (IGP) office who was magnificent in making sure I met my deadlines in order to meet the requirements of the program. I owe a lot to Grad student in Mathematics and Statistics Emmanuel Thompson who helped me with the Statistical analysis. I have to also thank Haskayne Grad Students Xiaoyu Liu and Prakash Das who gave feedback and guidance in aspects of the questionnaire for the survey. The survey was conducted across the entire Caribbean and I needed questions to be translated into French, Spanish and Dutch. I thank my translation team led by David Sandoz, Elizabeth ‘Blanca’ Romo and Marjon Melissen who worked hard to contact people in the non-English speaking territories. I especially acknowledge David Sandoz, who went way beyond the call of duty to make sure that we got close to 100% in terms of country/ political jurisdiction responses. iii This research would not have been successful without the cooperation of the more than 150 energy stakeholders throughout the Caribbean who gave of their time to take part in interviews and background meetings and complete the survey. In many cases meetings were arranged at short notice and these professionals despite busy schedules were accommodating and flexible in ensuring that they gave the necessary time and information to make this study as comprehensive as it could be. Special thanks to my family, especially parents Carl and Lois, my wife Heather and my sister Claire who supported me throughout this period of study. Last, but certainly not least, I need to thank my friends in Calgary, Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean and the wider world, especially those involved in communities dedicated to promoting the virtues of reason, logic, evidence and critical thinking. Having frequent interactions with these ‘rationalists’ helped me to continually challenge myself to question my assumptions and ways of interpretating results while conducting research. Words cannot fully express how my interactions with these individuals have impacted on this research as well as my overall personal and professional life. iv Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………..iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………...v List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………….ix List of Figures and Illustrations………………………………………………………………….x List of Symbols, Abbreviations and Nomenclature……………………………………………..xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1Background…………………………………………………………………………………….1 1.2 Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………11 1.3 Research……………………………………………………………………………………...12 1.4 Results……………………………………………………………………………………......13 1.5 Evaluation…………………………………………………………………………………....13 1.6 Research Question……………………………………………………………………….......14 1.7 Summary of Research Activities and Logic Tree…………………………………………....14 1.8 Outline of Chapters…………………………………………………………………………..16 CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND TO CARIBBEAN ENERGY CONTEXT 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..18 2.2 Technical Challenges………………………………………………………………………...22 2.3 Regulatory and Policy Challenges…………………………………………………………...27 2.4 International Agencies and Renewable Energy for Developing Countries………………….30 CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..32 3.2 Domain Theory……………………………………………………………………………....33 3.3 Natural Capital……………………………………………………………………………….34 3.4 Social Capital…………………………………………………………………………...……34 3.5 Innovation Theory……………………………………………………………………………36 3.6 Institutional Effects…………………………………………………………………………..37 v 3.7 Individuals, Champions, Network Interrelation, Institutional Factors……………………....39 CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY- MIXED APPROACH 4.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Methods……………………………………………………….45 4.2 Qualitative Analysis………………………………………………………………………….47 4.2.1 Choices of Countries for Study- Literal and Theoretical Replication……………..48 4.3 Quantitative Analysis………………………………………………………………………..51 4.3.1 Distribution of Questionnaire……………………………………………………...51 CHAPTER 5: CASE STUDY OF CARIBBEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT 5.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..53 5.2 Lessons from CREDP Study…………………………………………………………………65 CHAPTER 6: CASE STUDIES OF CARIBBEAN POLITICAL JURISDICTIONS 6.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..67 6.2 Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)…………………………………………..67 6.2.1 Regional Perspective……………………………………………………………….68 6.2.2 Renewable Energy Activities of Selected OECS States……………………………………………...75 6.2.2.1 Dominica…………………………………………………………………75 6.2.2.2 St. Kitts and Nevis…………………………………………………….....79 6.2.2.2.1 St. Kitts………………………………………………………...80 6.2.2.2.2 Nevis…………………………………………………………...81 6.2.2.3 St. Lucia……………………………………………………………….....83 6.2.2.4 St.Vincent and the Grenadines………………………………………..…85 6.2.2.5 Grenada…………………………………………………………………..85 6.2.2.6 Antigua and Barbuda…………………………………………………….86 6.3 Dutch Caribbean…………………………………………………………………………….87 6.3.1 Curacao………………………………………………………………………….....88 6.3.2 Bonaire…………………………………………………………………………….90 vi 6.4 Jamaica…………………………………………………………………………………........91 6.5 Barbados…………………………………………………………………………………….95 6.6 Guyana……………………………………………………………………………………...101 6.7 Trinidad and Tobago………………………………………………………………………..102 6.8 The Bahamas………………………………………………………………………………..104 6.9 Summary of Implications from Case Studies of Role of Institutions and Champions..……105 CHAPTER 7 RESULTS OF QUALITATIVE STUDY (CODING) 7.1 The Coding Process……………………………………………………………………….109 7.2 Second Order Codes………………………………………………………………………113 7.3 Third Order Codes………………………………………………………………………...120 7.4 Coding Frequency and Interaction Coding………………………………………………..120 CHAPTER 8 RESEARCH DESIGN: TESTING OF HYPOTHESES THROUGH QUESTIONNAIRE BASED EMAIL SURVEY 8.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………131 8.2 The research instrument- reliability and validity check…………………………………….132 8.3 Links between questions and constructs………………………………………..…………..132