Saint Lucia, February 27, 2013 – The Secretary for Integral Development of the Organization of American States (OAS), through the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Program (CSEP) and the Energy Efficiency Working Group of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), will host a twoday workshop on energy efficiency designs for office and public buildings in tropical climates. The event will start tomorrow, Thursday, February 28, 2013 at the Bay Gardens Inn in Rodney Bay.

In July 2012, the OAS awarded a contract to the Spanish firm Trama TecnoAmbiental (TTA) to develop a technical guideline on energy efficiency for office and public buildings in tropical climates. The newly drafted guidelines build upon previous regional efforts and international best practices in this field. It is expected that these guidelines will serve as an input to Chapter 13 of the International Building Code on minimum design requirements that will promote efficient utilization of energy buildings, which is the base that will be used to develop the Caribbean Buildings Standards.

The two-day workshop seeks to strengthen the capacity of government agencies and relevant stakeholders in charge of developing energy efficiency standards in buildings. Guidance will be provided on opportunities and challenges linked to the use and deployment of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy conversion technologies. Dialogue among participants on lessons learned in energy efficiency policy making and regulation will be encouraged. Government officials from National Standards Bodies, Energy Desks, architects and engineers from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will attend the event. The CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) will also be present.

For more information about the workshop, please contact Ms. Carolina Peña, +1 (202) 458-6818, CPena@oas.org.

See press release, here.