Sedn march 2016

Sustainable Energy & Development News

VOL.1 MARCH 2016

THE MONTHLY REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & DEVELOPMENT NEWS IN THE CARIBBEAN FROM THE REGION”S LEADING INFORMATION PLATFORMS

This publication is prepared by the Caribbean Energy Information System

What’s Happening Across The Region...

Govt ‘Yet To Respond’ To Plans For A Waste-ToEnergy Plant Executives of Stellar Energy yesterday disclosed that the Christie administration has yet to respond to applications for a waste-to-energy plant proposed by the company, despite the plant’s ...

Read more Montserrat National Energy Policy 2016-2030 The Montserrat National Energy Policy 2016-2030, titled the ‘Power to Change’ which is structured and designed to ensure that by 2030, Montserrat has ...

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Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre – Leading the Regional Response to Climate Change Since its inception in 2014, the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre (CCIC) programme has been leading the way in developing a regionally integrated ...

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ENERGY: A Balanced Future, Conference & Exhibition International Green Summit 2016 March 11-13, 2016 Bangabandhu International Conference Center, BICC, Dhaka, Bangladesh– The Jamaica Alternative Energy Expo Apirl 7-8, 2016 81 Knutsford Boulevard Kingston SMART WATER SYSTEMS April 25 – 26, 2016 Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, London Iceland Geothermal Conference (IGC2016) April 26 - 29, 2016 Harpa Conference Centre, Reykjavík

30-03-2016 || Solar Energy for Guyana Guyana has launched a new energy project that will provide solar energy to some of its rural communities. The Sustainable Business Models for Rural Electrification and Energy Access project will provide solar home systems to more than 6,000 families across the 25 hinterland communities.

The project was launched by Guyana’s Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s Hinterland Electrification Unit, and is a joint effort with not-for-profit company CARIBSAVE, and the Multilateral Investment ... Read more 30-03-2016 || NSP Project Arm Completes 34MW of Caribbean Solar Landmark The project division of cell manufacturer Neo Solar Power (NSP) has completed the initial 34MW phase of a plant in the Dominican Republic. The completion of the first phase makes it the largest PV install in the country and in the central Caribbean as a whole, according to NSP subsidiary General Energy Solutions (GES). When complete the Monte Plata project will total 67MW with a total investment ... Read more 30-03-2016 || Dominican Republic Inaugurates Country’s First Solar Energy Plant President Danilo Medina on Tuesday inaugurated the Dominican Republic’s first solar power plant, a $110 million facility in the eastern town of Monte Plata. The plant was built by the Taiwanese firm General Energy Solutions. At the inauguration ceremony, Jean A. Rodriguez, the executive director of the Dominican Republic’s Export and Investment Center, said that it is “evident with this significant investment that practically ... the entire world has its eye fixed on the Dominican ... Read more 24-03-2016 ||LUCELEC solar farm – 35 Companies interested St Lucia Electricity Services Limited’s (LUCELEC) Request for Proposals (RFP) for the construction of a 3 megawatt (MW) solar energy farm is drawing significant interest from around the world.. A recent meeting and site visit for potential bidders attracted seventy (70) representatives of thirty-five (35) companies from the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, many of whom are partnering with local solar, engineering and construction firms. Participants at the ... Read more

REPORTS Study on the Development of the Renewable Energy Market in Latin America and the Caribbean Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap (C-SERMS) Phase 1 Summary and Recommendations for Policymakers Energy Security in the Caribbean : Unique Challenges Perspective Paper February 2015

DOCUMENTS National Energy Plan - Final Draft Commonwealth of Dominica

Power Systems of the Future A 21stCentury Power Partnership Thought Leadership Report

UNIVERSAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS Understanding the Transformational Challenge for Developed Countries

Millennium Development Goal 8 Taking Stock of the Global Partnership for Development

23-03-2016 ||Cayman Way Behind When it Comes to Renewable Energy The Cayman Islands are way behind other island nations when it comes to implementing an overall renewable energy strategy for the country, even though islands such as Cayman suffer the most from climate change.

This was a point of discussion highlighted by James Whittaker during his presentation entitled: Energy–The Most Important Challenge, given at the TEDx UCCI conference, held on Saturday 19 March at ... Read more 23-03-2016 || CDB Recommends Water Sector Reform President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Dr Warren Smith has proposed regulatory reforms in the water sector, similar to those in the electricity sector, as one way of addressing the water scarcity facing Barbados and several other Caribbean countries. But he cautioned that consumers could be asked to pay a higher price for the commodity as a result. Delivering the Fair Trading Commission’s annual ... Read more 21-03-2016 ||Jamaica Cited As An Exception To Slow Renewable Energy Thrust Regionally Jamaica has been cited as one of the few exceptions among Caribbean countries in terms of the perceived slow pace at which the region is shifting to renewable sources of energy. President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr Warren Smith, lamented the Caribbean’s gentle march towards renewable energy last week. In delivering a lecture on the topic, ‘Regulating Utilities in Small Island Developing States – Lessons for the Caribbean’, Dr Smith said renewable energy is the most ... Read more 16-03-2016 || This Caribbean Hospital Just Went Solar St. Lucia’s National Mental Wellness Center has launched a new solar photovoltaic system that will enable it to operate on renewable energy. The hospital, which provides specialized services to citizens suffering with mental illness, now has the capacity to generate 25 kilowatts of renewable energy. The Ministry of Sustainable Development noted that the achievement is a “major milestone” and that it will facilitate continued operations at the hospital in the event of national power outage. St. Lucia currently has approximately 500 kilowatts of solar PV capacity installed ... Read more 15-03-2016 ||ECLAC Supports St Lucia’s Drive Towards Renewable Energy The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) subregional headquarters for the Caribbean is actively supporting the government of Saint Lucia as the country transitions from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, including solar and geothermal. In this context, ECLAC Caribbean’s economic affairs officer, Willard Phillips, participated in a consultation process on February 25, on the development of a legal framework... Read more 10-03-2016 ||11% Power Bill Fall If Renewable Energy Goal Met The Bahamas could reduce its national electricity bill by 11 per cent through hitting the renewable targets set in its National Energy Policy (NEP), an IMF working paper has estimated. #The authors of ‘Caribbean Energy: Macro Related Challenges’, a paper released yesterday, disclose that the Bahamas could reduce energy costs by more than one-tenth if it generates 30 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. #Using CARICOM and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) studies, the IMF paper predicts that the Bahamas ... Read more

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10-03-2016 || St. Lucia To Save Thousands After National Mental Wellness Centre Moves To Solar The National Mental Wellness Centre is now operating on renewable energy, saving the country thousands of dollars monthly in electricity cost. The hospital which provides specialised services to citizen suffering with mental illness, now has the capacity to generate twenty-five kilowatts (25 kW) of renewable energy. It is a major milestone development, which supports continued operations at the hospital in the event of a national ... Read more 09-03-2016 || Caribbean Countries Urged to Fully Develop Energy Sector Washington, United States (CMC) — Caribbean countries have been told that reducing energy costs will help the region improve growth and strengthen competitiveness. But at the same time, regional policymakers face conflicting objectives. On the one hand, investment in an effective energy reform strategy would have long-term benefits, while on the other, few countries have fiscal space to embark on ambitious investments to reform the energy sector. The situation confronting the region in its energy sector is discussed... Read more 04-03-2016 || STEMBoard Partners With DHL Express To Create Solar Grand Challenge Nassau, Bahamas - STEMBoard, the global engineering solutions company co-founded by Bahamian-American engineer Aisha Bowe, is proud to announce The DHL Express Solar Grand Challenge and Hack<IT> 2016. This Solar Grand Challengegives student teams throughout the Bahamas, Bermuda and Cayman Islands an opportunity to create portable, low-cost solar energy solutions. Culminating in a solar energy education track and pitch competition at ... Read more 01-03-2016 || PV in Jamaica: Sun Fund Americas announces solar PPA for a 20 MW project Sun Fund Americas, SRL, a renewable energy development company headquartered in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and concentrating on the Caribbean and Central American markets has signed a 20 MW Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the island nation of Jamaica. The project represents an investment of USD 50 million, Sun Fund Americas announced. Sun Fund Americas identifies, invests in and develops utility scale renewable energy projects ... Read more 01-03-2016 || UPDATE - Meeco Venture Inaugurates 3-MWp Solar System In Antigua The government of Antigua and Barbuda and a UK-based clean energy firm formed by Swiss energy group Meeco AG and B&S Property (UK) officially marked the completion of a 3-MWp solar-plus-storage system in the Caribbean country last week. PV Energy Ltd, the entity in charge of the scheme, constructed the plant at the VC Bird ... Read more 01-03-2016 || APUA Versus Renewable Energy Recently, in an editorial piece entitled, “Becoming the green powerhouse” we implored the Minister responsible for energy, Honourable Asot Michael to push hard for a re-examination of the government’s policy (or APUA’s) as it relates to net metering of renewable energy installations at the residential and commercial level.

We pointed out that the recent change from net metering to ... Read more