(The Valley, Anguilla) – Beth Barry, Anguilla’s Renewable Energy Coordinator recently attended the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) which took place in Bridgetown Barbados from October 12th-14th. CREF is the region’s premiere energy-focused gathering of Caribbean leaders, utilities, multilateral development funds, banks, renewable energy developers and entrepreneurs.
This year’s theme centered around the need for consensus among policy makers, utilities, regulators, the private sector and the public on making substantive progress on renewable energy integration.
A very strong message came from development banks including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that funding from multilaterals to implement renewable energy projects and combat climate change is available, but will only be spent where consistent stability and consensus among stakeholders is evident. The banks want to make safe long term investments in renewable energy deployment, but they need to know that affairs are and will continue to be stable on the ground where they invest.
Conference speakers also stressed the need for islands throughout the region to enact legislation governing renewable energy integration.
Speakers made it clear that islands working toward legislation and regulations that will address the details of integration such as energy efficiency and conservation, new tariffs, grid-tie rules for both large-scale and consumer based independent power producers, standards for renewable energy systems and the nature of agreements to compensate renewable energy producers will attract investment from the private sector and support from multilaterals. Many of the region’s islands, including Anguilla, are moving toward development of this type of legislation, and as the Chairman of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce put it, “The race is on to see which of the islands will emerge as the greenest in the region” through this process.
In discussing her second annual attendance at the CREF conference, Beth commented that “the most marked difference between the 2010 conference and 2011 is how focused all of the region’s islands have become on the issue of legislative change as the next essential step in the process of achieving renewable energy goals.” She went on to say that “last year it was all about what each island hoped to do and this year was much more about how they’re going to do it. It’s an encouraging progression toward tangible outcomes, and I’m glad to know that Anguilla is a leader when it comes to moving in this very practical direction.”
The AREO is currently funded by a grant from the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) to facilitate grid-tie legislation for Anguilla. Significant progress has been made to date.
(Source http://www.anguillanews.com/enews/index.php/permalink/4082.html)
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