One has to give credit to Aruba. They made development of their hospitality industry the envy of much of the Caribbean, with an open air doctrine, strong private sector policy participation and autonomous, separately-funded tourism authority for professional marketing and promotion.
The island has been in the forefront of renewable energy too, as witnessed by the MOU recently signed with Acciona Energy of Spain to convert the former Lago (Exxon) and Coastal refinery from oil to hydrogen. The plan is to also attract connected industries including chemical-hydrogen plants to the seaside transhipment terminal location dubbed “Hydrogen Valley” near San Nicolas.
This move should also help reach ambitious local fossil fuel emission targets, along with using solar panels, windmill parks and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for water and electricity production. The Dutch Caribbean country is thus positioning itself among regional leaders in the field of efforts to “go green” and promote sustainability.
St. Maarten has been discussing similar initiatives for years and is in a related partnership with GridMarket. So far, however, it remains limited to making plans and preparing strategies.
The people are longing for something tangible in this direction. They would by now like to see more than talk.
