IFC and IDB Invest support plans for green hydrogen plant in Barbados

World Bank Group member IFC, and IDB Invest have revealed they have partnered with Hydrogène de France (HDF) and Rubis to support the development of Barbados’ first green hydrogen power plant.

The Renewstable Barbados project plans to integrate a 50MW solar generation facility with green hydrogen and lithium-ion battery storage that will provide electricity to the Barbadian grid, powering up to 16,000 homes.

Announced in February this year (2022), the project hopes to aid the island state in achieving its 100% renewable energy mandate by 2030 without intermittency concerns.

Through a collaboration agreement, IFC has said it will provide solar resource assessment, geotechnical, and hydrological studies, as well as environmental life-cycle assessment, with hopes of attracting international investors to finance its construction in 2023.

H2 View understands, for its part, IBD Invest has already financed part of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the project.

Martin Spicer, Director for Mexico, Colombia, Central America, and the Caribbean, said, “Green hydrogen is emerging as an unparalleled technology for decarbonisation of many aspects of the economy.

“This is a first of its kind project for IFC globally and we are delighted to promote, in partnership with HDF and Rubis, a reliable clean baseload solution using green hydrogen, a solution that can be replicated in other small island economies in the Caribbean and beyond.”

Thibault Menage, Vice-President, Caribbean at HDF, commented, “We are extremely pleased with the involvement of IFC and IDB Invest, supporting the development of this industrial-scale green hydrogen power plant. The regional and worldwide duplication of this solution is in progress, and we are looking forward to expanding this partnership beyond Barbados.”

“We are living in a unique moment in our region where we must act together with the private sector in developing sustainable projects. Green hydrogen projects like this allow us to move in the right direction, especially in a region like the Caribbean,” said James Scriven, CEO of IDB Invest.