UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund enters second cycle of three-year plan to build renewable energy projects in 16 countries
The UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund (UAE-CREF) has entered the second cycle of its $50 million three-year plan to build climate-resilient renewable energy projects in 16 Caribbean nations.
It said it has successfully completed new development and funded agreements for the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.
The announcement was made at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2020, taking place this week in the UAE capital.
Under the new agreements, a solar photovoltaic carport and rooftop project will be built in the Dominican Republic; a solar PV and battery hybrid project will be developed for the village of Dondon, Haiti; a solar PV and battery hybrid plant will be constructed on the island of Wakenaam, Guyana; and a solar PV and battery hybrid project is planned for Carriacou in Grenada.
In Saint Kitts and Nevis, two solar PV desalination plants will be developed, while Suriname will receive a solar PV and battery hybrid plant and Trinidad and Tobago, a solar PV carport.
Fully financed by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the national entity for economic development aid, UAE-CREF is a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), ADFD and Masdar, which is leading the design and implementation of the selected projects.
The projects represent significant steps forward advancing the renewable energy ambitions of the seven countries, with the Dominican Republic targeting renewable energy generation of 25 percent by 2025 and Haiti aiming to have 50 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Guyana has set a target of 47 percent renewable electricity generation by 2027, while Grenada is aiming for 100 percent by 2030 and Trinidad and Tobago is targeting 5 percent of peak demand by 2020.
Clean energy projects in the Bahamas, Barbados, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were inaugurated in March 2019, while construction is expected to begin this year in Belize, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda, which will see the rebuilding of the power system on hurricane-devastated Barbuda.
Sultan Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development Affairs, said: “It is our hope that these new agreements will enable beneficiaries to bolster their defences against climate change while further pursuing energy independence in the long term.”
Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of ADFD, added: “Today’s announcement reaffirms the Fund’s commitment to working in partnership with the governments of beneficiary countries to translate their clean energy objectives into reality. We are confident that the selected second-cycle UAE-CREF projects will go a long way in meeting the outlined energy targets and driving sustainable economic growth in the seven countries.”
