Full steam ahead at Nevis geothermal reservoir

March 20, 2018

High temperatures and adequate steam from Nevis’ geothermal reservoir has project developers elated, with testing completed and production well drilling expected to commence this summer. On March 16, 2018, Robert Stacy, Senior Reservoir Engineer at GeothermEX shared that the resource is promising. “[There are] high temperatures down at resource at commercial grades to produce power,” […]

St. Lucia geothermal project in public consultation phase

March 19, 2018

St. Lucia’s geothermal project is engaging stakeholders as they prepare for exploratory drilling; important, as past geothermal activities left a bad impression for St. Lucians. Last week the government held a public consultation bringing together stakeholders including private consultants and the World Bank to discuss the project and plans for future exploration. Project leaders brought […]

Puerto Rico’s governor won’t commit to electricity price at 15 cents/kWh

March 15, 2018

Gov. Ricardo Rosselló did not commit Friday to bring the price of electricity to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as requested by Puerto Rico’s industrial and manufacturing sector, also insisting that the regulator must be a key component in efforts to control the electricity price. Rosselló also said the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) […]

Tech companies flock to Puerto Rico to create “city of the future”

March 15, 2018

Puerto Rico is working with companies including Tesla, AT&T and others in the blockchain space to tackle the unprecedented infrastructure overhaul needed post-Hurricane Maria. Companies such as Google, Tesla and Virgin Atlantic are involved in discussions to revitalize locations like airports and others across Puerto Rico.  Omar Marrero, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Public-Private […]

U.S. Fed official recommends Puerto Rico grid start from scratch

March 15, 2018

New York Federal Reserve Bank President, William Dudley, said that Puerto Rico should “start from scratch” rebuilding its already outdated power infrastructure after deadly Hurricane Maria last year devastated it. The U.S. Fed has authority over the territory. The Hurricane marks the worst natural disaster in 90 years and the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. […]

IFC funding to encourage clean energy development in Nicaragua

March 15, 2018

Small and medium size entrepreneurs in Nicaragua are getting a big financial lift from a new IFC program. A member of the World Bank Group, IFC is structuring a will provide up to $115 million in financing to Nicaragua’s Banco LAFISE BANCENTRO, S.A., meant to boost access to credit for small and medium entrepreneurs and […]

Puerto Rico’s solar rooftops are getting storage for increased resiliency

March 14, 2018

Puerto Rico’s Houston-based solar developer, Sunnova wants to add batteries to its solar rooftop installations. Many rooftop panel systems lost power during the hurricane outages because the panels operate via the utility, PREPA. If solar rooftops have batteries, they can still work during grid outages. Sunnova continues to lose revenue on its downed systems, and […]

Venezuela will finance solar projects with “Petro” cryptocurrency

March 14, 2018

The Venezuelan government intends to finance solar energy projects using its recently launched state cryptocurrency, “Petro”.  Petro is a cryptocurrency developed by the government of Venezuela, and backed by its oil and mineral reserves, which raised $735 million in the first day of a pre-sale in February. Facing the current economic crisis, the government hopes […]

Japan’s development agency sets up shop in Cuba

March 12, 2018

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) opened an office in Havana to assist in the country’s infrastructure development. Cuba requested support for its transportation and energy sectors and JICA intends to expand cooperation between the two nations with the opening of a Cuban office. Cuba’s Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Minister, Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, said the […]