A taskforce comprising of financial, governmental and educational institutions is mulling a $100M fund for Caribbean Renewable Energy which will impact eleven Caribbean countries and 27 energy projects.
The taskforce led by the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA) and consists of participants from International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), University of the West Indies (UWI), Government of Barbados, BMR Energy, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (Lucelec) and The Leap Co. came together at the Island Resilience Action Challenge (IRAC) – an energy resilience challenge – last month to discuss and decide upon the final set of projects for funding consideration.
The high-powered taskforce is racing to develop an island resilience impact fund that uses blended finance to expedite clean energy projects that strengthen resilience and support communities while keeping energy costs manageable.
In order to create a tailored fund, the taskforce has reviewed 118 clean energy projects across 11 Caribbean countries and shortlisted 27 projects for further review. Due to the Region’s high solar potential, the taskforce’s criteria include solar PV projects that are larger than 1 MW and less than 15 MW.
In addition to shortlisting 5-10 solar PV projects, the taskforce will finalize the fund’s structure and capital commitments from target organizations and governments prior to the final round of competition for the IRAC Impact Award at CREF 2020.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator, Racquel Moses, who is working along with Deputy Taskforce Leader, Keisha Reid of the Barbados Ministry of Energy and her team, have reported that they are making significant progress on their promised 12-month solution made last year at CREF 2019.
“Caribbean people are struggling with increasingly severe hurricanes and the devastating economic impact of COVID-19. While winning the Island Resilience Action Challenge would be gratifying, our team is focused on making a sustainable difference that lasts well beyond the end of our lives,” Moses said.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), New Energy Events, LLC., Matthew Perks added: “If ever there was a time for no-holds-barred collaboration, and the organization of capital around projects in the Caribbean that promote resilience, it is now.”
The event was made possible through the support received from Canada via the Canadian Support to the Energy Sector in the Caribbean Fund (CSES-C) with the CDB.
