This report was prepared by Keron Niles and Bob Lloyd. Article is published in the Journal of  Energy For Sustainable Development This paper asserts that the current dependence of Caribbean and pacific SID's on both development assistance from donor agencies and imported fossil fuels are not coincidental, but rather, it was due to the transition of these islands from subsistence agriculture to export-oriented economies, primarily to serve the interests of more developed metropolitan countries. These interests have included the provision of cheap raw materials and agricultural produce to imperial nations; which has meant that SIDs needed to develop export orientated economies requiring both financial capital and energy supply usually over and above that available locally.