The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved funds of USD$350,000 for energy storage and grid modernisation in the Caribbean.
The grant was approved to assist utilities and stakeholders with design and planning of storage and grid solutions, in an effort towards clean energy across the region.
Tessa Williams-Robertson, head at Renewable Energy at CBD said, “Through this project, utilities and energy stakeholders will receive the support and technical advisory services needed to identify suitable investments in energy storage and grid modernisation technologies and properly plan for implementation and operational management”.
The Canadian Support to the Energy Sector in the Caribbean (CSES-S) fund will provide technical assistance supporting up to six energy storage and/or grid modernisation proposals, from the Bank’s Borrowing Member countries (BMCs).
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The CSES-S Fund provides technical assistance over a four-year period; it was launched in 2016 and has since supported 15 technical assistance projects. The projects include 10 capacity-building projects, four development support projects and one regulatory support project, with the capacity-building projects reaching over 500 people.
The Canadian Government provided CAD$5 million (USD$3.9 million) in grant resources to the CDB to support public and private actors in the energy sector.
The Canadian government invests through the fund in legislative and regulatory Support, investment project support and capacity building, to supply energy projects and increase knowledge and expertise, in order to achieve sustainable energy targets.
In May 2017 CBD approved projects including: the Building Capacity for Disaster Risk Management and Climate Project in Haiti as well as an Energy Efficiency Measures and Solar Photovoltaic Plant undertaking in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Recent natural disasters in the region has highlighted the benefits for energy storage on island territories. System integrator AES claimed that energy storage assisted the Dominican Republic by keeping power supplies running during Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The 20MW of storage had been deployed on the island only a week or two before the devastation occurred.
