Sustainable Energy & Development News February 2014

Sustainable Energy &Development News

VOL.1 FEBRUARY 2014

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

The World’s Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant Started Generating Power Today

The amazing Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System uses 300,000 computer-controlled mirrors, to focus Sunlight to the top of 459-foot

towers, where water is turned into steam to power turbines. The implications of this new project are great, but even more amazing

solutions exist. Read more

This publication is prepared by the Caribbean Energy Information System

Branson Gets Clean Energy CommitmentsPolitical delegations from several small Caribbean islands who gathered

on British tycoon Richard Branson’s private isle have committed to working with his renewable energy non-profit organisation and move

at a faster pace to cut their dependence on fossil fuels.Read more

Climate Consciousness IncreasingJamaicans are becoming more conscious of climate change as their knowledge of the phenomenon and the risks it poses to the country

increase. Read more

What’s Happening Now Across The Region...

FEBRUARY 2014 IN REVIEW BE IN THE KNOW ON RENEWABLE ENERGY

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27-2-2014 || Rosalie Bay Resort Showcases Renewable Energy in Action for Local Students “It is our passion to share the beauty of the Nature Island and empower people of all ages to protect the environment,” said Beverly Deikel, owner of Rosalie Bay Resort, located on Dominica in the Caribbean. Read more

CIPORE EVENTS, See All Events

Renewable Energy Latin America & Caribbean

Conference & Expo (RELACCX)

April 24-25, 2014Puerto Rico

Regsa International Conference 2014: Renewable Energy,

Energy Efficiency And Sustainable Development

May 6 - 8, 2014Florianopolis, Santa Catarina,

Brazil

2014 Energy ConferenceJune 9-11 2014

Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Trinidad

The University of Technologys’s 3rd International Scientific

ConferenceJune 25 – 27, 2014Kingston, Jamaica

28-2-2014 || Ocean Energy of Interest to Barbados and the RegionWhile the Caribbean may not be rich in traditional petroleum energy resources, the evolution of renewable energy has revealed that the region possesses an abundance of another valuable source – water. Read more

28-2-2014 || Feasibility Studies for Guyana-Brazil Hydropower Development The Guyanese government will be conducting pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on the development of a hydropower project in the Mazaruni, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. Read more

28-2-2014 || Cayman Islands, Caribbean Pioneer in Use of Electric VehiclesThe Cayman Islands are now the pioneer in the Caribbean region in using renewable energy sources to fuel electric vehicles, with a view to long term economic and ecological sustainability. Read more

26-2-2014 || JSIF/JBI Launch $192 Million Greenhouse and Water Catchment ProjectA total of 20 greenhouses are being constructed in each of the eight targeted communities, with a mined-out pit at each site to be converted into a surface water reservoir to be used for irrigation purposes. Read more24-2-2014 || WTEC Enters into Suriname U.S. renewable services leader WTEC and its engineering affiliate, RERC, will undertake an engineering project for a solar power plant for Iamgold’s Rosebel Gold Mine in Suriname, South America, reducing electricity costs in Iamgold’s Suriname operations. Read more

27-2-2014 || IDB Launches Caribbean Energy Initiative to Tackle High CostsThe Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says Caribbean finance ministers have expressed concern about the high energy costs in the Caribbean that “constrain living standards and growth.” Read more

17-2 -2014 || CARICOM Talks Renewable Energy Plans with GermanyA four-year, 5.02 million-euro project to assist Caribbean Community member states move toward renewable energy technologies has been the focus of discussions at CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters in Guyana. Read more

17-2-2014 || St Lucia Increases Target for Production of Green EnergyFollowing this month’s high-profile renewable energy conference on Moskito Island in the British Virgin Islands, St Lucia Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony has asked Energy Minister Dr James Fletcher to increase the island’s target for green energy production. Read more17-2-2014 || OUR Fast-Tracks Renewable Energy Power Purchase AgreementsThe Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has moved up the date for the signing of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for the three entities selected to provide the 78 MW of renewable energy capacity. They are now expected to sign the PPAs with Jamaica Public Service in February 2014 instead of the June 2014 original date. Read more

REPORTS

Jamaica Sustainable Energy Roadmap: Pathways To An

Affordable, Reliable, Low-Emission Electricity System

Climatescope 2014 : New Frontiers for Low-Carbon Energy Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Report: Renewable Energy

could power all of Latin America and Caribbean

DOCUMENTS

Status of Net Billing offered in Jamaica (Version 1)

Proposed Incentives for the Energy Sector - JAMAICA

17-2-2014 || Sharing German EnergyIt wasn’t difficult for German Ambassador Josef Beck to identify renewable energy and climate change as two areas to give special attention when he arrived here in 2011. Read more

21-2-2014 || Funders Splashing $100m on Dominican Republic Clean EnergyA power company in the Dominican Republic is getting $100 million (£60m) from investors to develop more gas infrastructure and renewable energy sources. Read more

13-2-2014 || Barbados Could Receive Up to $100 Million in EU Grant FundingThe European Union says it is willing to provide BDS$100 million (One BDS dollar = US$0.50 cents) to Barbados in grant funding. Read more

14-2-2014 || Six Caribbean Islands Sign on to Replace Diesel with RenewablesBrought together on Sir Richard Branson’s Caribbean island retreat by the Carbon War Room and Rocky Mountain Institute, to work out a framework to effect a transition away from fossil fuels, six Caribbean island nations have agreed to replace diesel-fueled power with a mix of clean, sustainable renewable power generation, energy storage systems, and greater energy efficiency. Read more13-2-2014 || ACORE Announces The Renewable Energy Latin America and the Caribbean Conference and Exhibition (RELACCx)The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) will be convening finance, development and thought leaders from the Latin American, the Caribbean and around the world at the Renewable Energy Latin America and the Caribbean Conference and Exhibition (RELACCx), on April 24-25, 2014, at El Conquistador, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.Programme. Read more

24-2-2014 || Little Cayman Could Lead Green RevolutionCould Little Cayman become 100% fossil fuel free? One social scientist believes the smallest of the Cayman Islands is the perfect candidate to become completely reliant on renewable energy. Read more

4-2-2014 || Regional Seminar on Cleaner Fuels Under Way in JamaicaRepresentatives from seven Caribbean and Latin American countries are in Jamaica for a two-day regional workshop to create national action plans on the implementation of cleaner fuels and more efficient vehicles. Read more

6-2-2014 ||St. Lucia Sets Sights on Geothermal EnergySt. Lucia has begun exploring the potential of geothermal energy as several of its neighbors in the Eastern Caribbean begun using this form of renewable energy as a replacement for fossil-fuels. Read more

6-2-2014 || Branson Hosts Renewable Energy SummitCaribbean politicians and renewable power experts gathered on British billionaire Richard Branson’s private isle to discuss ways of transitioning to clean energy in an effort to spur small island nations to slash their dependence on fossil fuels and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Read more

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1840(f) |[email protected]

www.ceis-caribenergy.orgwww.src-jamaica.org

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Renewable Energy (CIPORE)www.cipore.org

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7-2-2014 || Op-Ed: Green Energy in the CaribbeanClimate change is one of the greatest threats to our security and prosperity. So, now is the time for people around the world to work together, to protect our future and that of our children. Read more

2-2-2014 ||Improved Cookstoves Company Tackling Market Barriers in HaitiAn ICS producer is about to change the face of Haitian cooking by breaking down barriers that are preventing the adoption of improved cookstoves in the local market. Read more

10-2-2014 || Richard Branson Pledges to Turn Caribbean GreenThe palm trees and billiard table have been shipped in, work on the infinity pool overlooking the coral reef is progressing and the tennis courts are celebrity-ready. But few of the super-luxury buildings rising on Moskito island’s beaches are finished yet. Read more

11-2-2014 || OAS Supports Talks on Renewable Energy Usage in the CaribbeanThe Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin, met with government officials, private sector leaders and renewable energy experts from around the world this week to promote increased use of renewable energy in the Caribbean. Read more

11-2-2014 || Wind of Change Sweeps Through Energy Policy in the CaribbeanAruba in the southern Caribbean has 107,000 people, a lot of wind and sun and, until very recently, one very big problem. Despite the trade winds and sunshine, it was spending more than 16% of its economy on importing 6,500 barrels of diesel fuel a day to generate electricity. Read more

4-2-2014 || Renewable Energy Fearing ‘Significant Harm’ from VATBahamian renewable energy providers yesterday warned of “significant harmful effects” if the sector is subject to 15 per cent Value-Added Tax (VAT), adding that it would undermine a key aspect of government policy. Read more

11-2-2014 || In Search of Cheaper Energy: Britain Funds Training Laboratory at Wigton WindfarmFor Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell, a planned British-funded training laboratory at the Wigton wind farm complex in Rose Hill, Manchester, is one more step in the long, hard drive towards competitive energy costs for Jamaicans. Read more

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21-2-2014 ||WISYNCO Finds Partner for Cogeneration PlantWISYNCO Group says it has already identified a partner for its cogeneration plant. When the company first signalled its intention to invest in the energy savings facility, it noted that it would opt for a system that uses a liquid propane gas generator to both power its chilled water system and produce carbon dioxide to be effectively utilised to create the bubbles in its soft drinks. Read more

27-2-2014 || Indoor Mini-farms to Beat Climate ChangeIndustrial engineer Ancel Bhagwandeen thinks that growing your food indoors is a great way to protect crops from the stresses of climate change. Read more

24-2-2014 || EU Supports Launching of the 2014 UN International Year of Small Islands Development States (SIDS)The International Year of Small Island Development States (SIDS) was officially launched on 24 February 2014. The European Union acknowledges that SIDS face common challenges and experience specific vulnerabilities across the economic, social and environmental dimensions. They are all greatly affected by climate change and confronted with rising sea levels, and face frequent natural and man-made disasters. Read more

26-2-2014 || Race on to Save Caribbean Banana Industry From Impact of Climate ChangeWhen Dean, the first storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, lashed Dominica on Aug. 16, it left behind a trail of destruction, claimed the lives of a mother and son, and decimated the island’s vital banana industry. Seven years later, Dominica’s agricultural sector remains painfully vulnerable to natural disasters and climate variability. Every year, farmers lose a significant portion of their crops and livestock during the six-month hurricane season. Read more

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Hope Gardens, Kingston 6,Jamaica W.I.

876-927-1779(w) | 876-977-1840(f) |[email protected]

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20-2-2014 || Pickersgill Launches Climate Change DiscourseMinister of Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change, Robert Pickersgill, last week kicked off a series of public consultations aimed at sensitising Jamaicans about the issue of climate change. As part of the consultation, the Government revealed its Climate Change Framework Policy and Action Plan, and asked the audience to comment on the presentation. Read more

14-2-2014 || Jamaican Firms Team up to Form RECYCLE NOW JAMAICASeven local private companies have teamed up to pump $23.75 million, over three years, into a new national recycling initiative, Recycle Now Jamaica — a public/private partnership with the Government. The Government will invest $50 million each year from cash taken from collection from the environmental levy, making the total investment for the initiative over three years, $200 million. Read more

11-2-2014 || Climate Change: Prevention Better, Less Costly Than CureAnyone who has been observing weather patterns worldwide over the past few years will notice the increasing effects of climate change.Unusually cold weather in the United States south in recent weeks, as well as the unseasonal rains that devastated a number of Eastern Caribbean islands over the last Christmas holidays, have been just two of the latest examples of what is going wrong. Read more

19-2-2014|| Grand Bahama Confirms Lack of Radiation Detection ProgrammeGrand Bahama Port Authority officials have confirmed the organisation does not have a radiation detection programme amid growing speculation over the screening of Japanese imports. Read more

11-2-2014 || Nevis Launches Project to Restore Waterfront in CharlestownNevis is taking steps to restore the Charlestown Waterfront to “its former glory,” according to the Nevis Island Administration. The project, which launched on Jan. 23, is a partnership between the Nevis Air and Sea Ports Authority, the Ministry of Tourism and government of Taiwan. Read more

18-2-2014 ||UN carbon market panel picks Barbados scientist Sealy as chairA panel overseeing the United Nations’ carbon market has elected a scientist from the Caribbean as its new chair with a German climate policy expert as deputy, the U.N.’s climate change secretariat said. Hugh Sealy, an environmental scientist and chemical engineer from Barbados, was elected to head the Clean Development Mechanism’s (CDM) executive board. Read more

19-2-2014 || PBPA mangroves have carbon sequestration valueThe International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s authority on biodiversity conservation, has written to Jamaica’s environment minister on the subject of the trans-shipment port planned for the Goat Islands in the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA). The organisation argued that given the ecological services to Jamaica and the global importance of the area in terms of its variety of plant and animal species, Portland Bight should be left in tact. Read more

10-2-2014 ||Government Drafting Policy on Organic AgricultureThe Government is currently drafting a policy on organic agriculture as it seeks to advance the development of a modern, efficient and internationally competitive sector. Read more