The record-setting 8.5 cents/kWh PPA for the 37 MW Jamaican solar farm has lined up financing through the USAID, and the project remains on track to begin construction this year.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded the first grant through the Clean Energy Finance Facility for the Caribbean and Central America (CEFF-CCA), to help develop a 37 megawatt (MW) solar farm in Jamaica’s Westmoreland Parish.
CEFF-CCA will provide support to Rekamniar Capital Limited, the project developer, to partner with independent power producer (IPP) Neoen on forming the Eight Rivers Energy Company, which will build the solar facility. The purpose of the grant is to support selected legal, consulting and engineering costs in late stage project development. The project will connect to the national grid under a Purchase Power Agreement with Jamaica’s Office of Utility Regulation. Once completed, the Eight Rivers facility will generate some of the lowest cost electricity on the island.
President Obama launched CEFF-CCA on April 9, 2015. The program seeks to encourage private sector investment in clean energy projects in the two regions. CEFF-CCA leverages the expertise and resources of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of State (State Department), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
