The CARICOM member states have made appreciable strides in the direction of reaching their renewable vitality (RE) targets, reaching a commendable 12 per cent RE electrical energy penetration by 2022—almost midway to their formidable purpose.
This milestone was highlighted throughout a current webinar hosted by The Caribbean Centre for Renewable Power and Power Effectivity (CCREEE) on Tuesday, July 30. The occasion marked the launch of the 2022 CARICOM Power Report Playing cards (ERCs), titled “The Success of 12% by 2022.”
The CARICOM ERCs present an summary of the vitality sector’s efficiency throughout the 15 CARICOM member states and the Turks and Caicos Islands, serving as an important instrument for monitoring the area’s vitality transition. For the reason that ERCs’ inception in 2017, they’ve performed a vital position in assessing progress, encompassing sustainable vitality initiatives, insurance policies, technical assist, workforce growth, and capacity-building efforts.
Whereas CARICOM set an formidable goal of reaching 27 per cent put in renewable vitality capability by 2022 and 47 per cent by 2027, Ayanna Evelyn, Information Administration Affiliate at The CCREEE, revealed that the area has already put in roughly 700 megawatts of renewable vitality capability. This achievement is a testomony to the concerted efforts of member states, every of which has established a coverage or is within the strategy of growing one to additional advance their renewable vitality sectors.
Presenting the report’s findings, Ms. Evelyn acknowledged that whereas the 2022 goal was not absolutely met, the area’s dedication to renewable vitality stays unwavering. “The groundwork has been laid, and we anticipate much more important progress mirrored within the 2023 Power Report Card, given the constructive developments we’re witnessing throughout the sector,” she famous.
Evelyn additionally underscored the area’s immense potential in renewable vitality sources, together with photo voltaic, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass, that are key to driving larger resilience and vitality safety throughout the Caribbean.
In his remarks, Dr. James Fletcher, Chairman of The CCREEE, emphasised the Caribbean’s position as a frontrunner in international local weather motion; regardless of contributing solely 0.2 per cent to international greenhouse fuel emissions, it suffers the worst results of local weather change. “It will be significant for us to display that even being such small producers of greenhouse fuel emissions, we’re actively working to decrease international temperatures again to 1.5 levels Celsius. It helps with our negotiating inside local weather change areas, particularly throughout the United Nations Framework Conference on Local weather Change (UNFCCC), demonstrating that we’re main by instance,” Dr. Fletcher said.
Dr. Fletcher additionally recognised the progress achieved to date, explaining that the ERCs additionally present worthwhile insights into the challenges and alternatives confronted by member states as they work in the direction of their vitality objectives.
Sandra Britton, Programme Supervisor for Power on the CARICOM Secretariat, praised the ERCs as important instruments for understanding the present state of the area’s vitality sector and for planning a sustainable and resilient future. She affirmed the CARICOM Secretariat’s continued dedication to supporting the area’s vitality transition, guaranteeing that insurance policies and methods are grounded in sturdy knowledge and efficient planning.
“So, we’re very pleased that we have now the CARICOM Power Information Hub (CEKH) at The CCREEE and that they’re gathering a lot of the vitality knowledge in order that we might be capable to make knowledgeable selections, and we’d be capable to use the info additionally within the planning and growth of our insurance policies,” Britton remarked.
Joseph Williams, Sustainable Power Coordinator on the Caribbean Growth Financial institution, echoed the significance of evidence-based policymaking and efficiency monitoring in vitality planning. He highlighted the essential position of ERCs in assessing progress and guaranteeing that the area meets its reporting obligations to the worldwide group and companions.
Moreover, reporting on St. Kitts and Nevis’ decarbonisation efforts, Denasio Frank, Power Officer of the Power Unit, famous that whereas the dual-island nation has made important progress towards its targets, work nonetheless stays to be executed. With an estimated 1280 megawatts of geothermal vitality potential and ample photo voltaic vitality sources, the dual-island nation is poised for a transformative shift in its vitality panorama. Mr. Frank additionally famous the event of a nationwide grid code to encourage funding in photo voltaic vitality and the necessity for an up to date vitality coverage framework that features provisions for small-scale distributed renewable vitality techniques and electrical automobiles.
Wanting in the direction of 2027 and past, Cherri-Ann Farquharson, The CCREEE’s Capability Growth and Gender Skilled, emphasised the significance of sturdy insurance policies, regulatory frameworks, and incentives to drive larger funding in renewable vitality. She asserted that “CARICOM member states have the pure sources needed to remodel the vitality sector into a serious financial driver, enhancing regional vitality safety and enhancing the standard of life for all Caribbean individuals.”
Farquharson emphasised that collaboration is vital to our success.
“By specializing in regional vitality integration, sharing classes discovered, and pooling our capacities and vitality sources, we are able to speed up our progress and obtain even larger outcomes,” Farquharson concluded.
