Resiliency

Why resiliency changes the investor view on the Caribbean energy sector

Guest Editorial written by Doug Hewson, Managing Partner, Portland Private Equity As we enter the 2018 hurricane season, we are beginning to understand how last year’s monumental storms have impacted private equity’s view on the Caribbean energy sector. It’s no secret that the regional energy sector has many issues: reliance on fossil fuels, sub-scale markets, and […]

CDB loan will fund Dominica’s electricity restoration and resilience planning

The Caribbean Development Bank will provide USD16 million in funding to Dominica Electricity Services Limited (DOMLEC), to assist with the restoration of electricity generation services. As of January 2018, less than 20 percent of electricity services had been restored from devastating Hurricane Maria that wiped out 75 percent of the islands electricity. The project will […]

$17.6b rebuild plan for Puerto Rico features distributed generation

A $17.6 billion plan to rebuild and modernize Puerto Rico’s electric power system was released on 11 December.  Prepared by more than a dozen entities, including the island’s electric power authority (PREPA), the 63-page plan calls for a decade-long series of projects and operational improvements. The plan is aimed at building an electric power system capable of surviving […]

Caribbean leaders announce launch of Climate Smart Coalition

Caribbean leaders gathered at the One Planet Summit this week announced a new coalition of global organizations to drive investment towards climate resilient infrastructure. The Caribbean Climate-Smart Coalition aims to find a way to break through the systemic obstacles that stop finance flowing to climate-smart investments. Participating organizations include the Inter-American Development Bank, the World […]

Solar PV and microgrids post-Irma: Some survive, others sustain damage

Antigua at 50km from the eye of the storm saw sustained winds at time exceeding 275 km/hour. The solar power system on Antiguga – designed and installed by PV Energy – survived hurricane Irma without damages or substantial system failures. Designed to withstand hurricanes of up to the category 4, each of the 55 solar power […]