Arlington, VA – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a technical assistance grant to Saint Lucia's National Utilities Regulatory Commission (NURC) that will advance the country's renewable power generation infrastructure and energy sector resilience. USTDA's assistance will help de Contact online >>
Arlington, VA – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a technical assistance grant to Saint Lucia''s National Utilities Regulatory Commission (NURC) that will advance the country''s renewable power generation infrastructure and energy sector resilience. USTDA''s assistance will help develop an enabling regulatory environment for renewables and assess the feasibility of implementing six solar-plus-storage microgrids at critical facilities in Saint Lucia. The NURC selected the Colorado-based RMI to carry out the assistance.
"USTDA''s portfolio across the Caribbean has a strong focus on helping island economies such as Saint Lucia to develop resilient and sustainable energy infrastructure," said Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally (ret.), USTDA''s Acting Director. "USTDA is linking its partners to U.S. solutions that will help mitigate the impact of climate change, which has a disproportionate impact on the people of the Caribbean."
NURC Chairman, Lawrence Nervais, said "A microgrid generally operates while connected to the grid, but importantly, it can break off and operate on its own using local energy generation in times of crisis like storms or power outages, or for other reasons. This is particularly important for us in Saint Lucia as it will strengthen our resilience to the vagaries of climate change which affects us through adverse weather systems. Therefore, utilizing our natural resource of solar power backed by storage, we can benefit tremendously from a microgrid that powers our health facilities, airports or communities so that we can have business continuity immediately following a disaster."
USTDA''s technical assistance will advance Saint Lucia''s efforts to build resilient microgrid infrastructure that can withstand severe weather events and provide continued power supply to hospitals, schools, communications towers, and water treatment plants. The assistance will enable NURC to prepare, develop and de-risk Saint Lucia''s first aggregated critical facilities microgrid project, with the goal of providing an enabling regulatory environment that could allow future replication.
Justin Locke, Managing Director of RMI''s Global South Program said: "Nowhere is the business case clearer or the need to transition to resilient distributed energy resources more urgent than in places like Saint Lucia. As we have seen over the last five years with the likes of Hurricane Maria, Irma and Dorian, these events expose how vulnerable Caribbean electricity grids are. If a storm shuts down an island''s power plant, the entire island goes dark. Rather than waiting to rebuild smarter after a disaster event, Saint Lucia is demonstrating proactive leadership – thanks to USTDA."
This activity supports USTDA''s Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure, which connects U.S. industry to major clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects in emerging markets. It also supports the Biden Administration''s Small and Less Populous Island Economies (SALPIE) Initiative.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
MEDIA INQUIRIES: Paul Marin | (703) 875-4357
RMI MEDIA INQUIRES: Tierney Sheehan, RMI Communications Specialist | +18587351169
In the interest of keeping stakeholders apprised, this session created an opportunity to provide stakeholders with the ability to better understand and participate in this initiative from the onset and to gain buy-in for this project.
Stakeholder engagement is one of the important elements of the Commission’s obligations and in discharging its duty effectively and in a manner that is transparent and accountable, the NURC must understand the interests of all stakeholders. This can be best achieved by engaging stakeholders in the Commission’s decision-making process and regulatory initiatives.
The NURC believes that engagement and education critically hinge on the ability to recognise and consider the viewpoint of its stakeholders, using information accumulated from these sources to design policies and resolve regulatory challenges.
National Utilities Regulatory Commission (NURC) is a multi-sector independent regulator established pursuant to the National Utilities Regulatory Commission Act of No.3 of 2016, to regulate utility supply services including, water, sewerage and electricity in Saint Lucia. The NURC, is also responsible for (among other things):
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries. USTDA achieves its mission by funding feasibility studies, technical assistance and pilot projects that integrate U.S. private sector innovation into infrastructure projects at the critical early stages when design choices and technology options are determined.
RMI is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization of experts across disciplines working to accelerate the clean energy transition and improve lives. RMI decarbonizes energy systems through rapid, market-based change in the world’s most critical geographies and address the climate crisis by working with businesses, policymakers, communities and other organizations to identify and scale energy system interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In the rainy season, storms pummel Saint Lucia, a small Eastern Caribbean Island nation. When they hit, the torrential rain and flooding forces local systems to shut down — the aging infrastructure is simply not designed to handle those levels of inundation. This is especially true in the rural areas, where the water systems often shut off during heavy downpours since the water won''t be drinkable from the tap.
When Skeeta Carasco steps out of her home in Dennery, St Lucia, after a storm, she often sees intakes that are clogged or inaccessible due to roads being washed out. Even in urban areas, big storms can bring disaster to the water system. In 2010, when Hurricane Tomas hit, even the heart of Saint Lucia''s economic area was without water for weeks and two intakes were destroyed and had to be rebuilt completely. People desperate for clean water will go to medical centers, only to learn that even hospitals are suffering from a lack of potable water.
What''s needed, Carasco now knows, after years working with Saint Lucia''s water and energy sector regulator, are investments to climate-proof and harden infrastructure to make it more resilient to storms. The island needs upgrades; increased water storage capacity within water systems; more water treatment and collection systems; improved infrastructure for roads, pipes, and intakes; and a more resilient energy system.
The problem — similar to many other small island states — is a lack of sufficient funding for these critical projects. Because the rainy season is getting less predictable and the impacts more intense, improving the resilience of critical infrastructure is indistinguishable from battling climate change itself. "Climate finance," Carasco says, "is perhaps the biggest challenge that Caribbean countries and Small Island Developing States face when it comes to mitigation and adaptation to climate change."
Fortunately, this is exactly what Carasco is there to work on. She''s the first member of a cohort of locally hired, highly trained, dedicated climate finance advisors to be embedded in Caribbean countries with a mandate to develop pipelines of projects that will help these nations stay strong under the onslaught of climate change.
The Climate Finance Access Network (CFAN), designed and coordinated by RMI, has been around since 2021. Currently there are eight countries in the Pacific with CFAN advisors who, between them, have unlocked $88.3 million in climate financing and have a pipeline of $464 million more. Now the Network is growing internationally to soon cover a total of 18 small islands governments and regional organizations. Hiring is actively underway for six additional advisors to join Carasco supporting the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC).
Carasco has been in this role since June. As the inaugural Caribbean CFAN advisor, she is looking forward to welcoming new colleagues and continuing to dig deeper into the work she''s already undertaken. She grew up in Saint Lucia, and lived without access to electricity for the first 16 years of her life. Deeply committed to advocacy for those who have the least, she has seen firsthand the impacts of climate change on aging infrastructure and across agriculture, health, and utility sectors. She understands intimately the need for resources and funding to realize Saint Lucia''s development and sustainability goals.
This is where key facets of Carasco''s role come into play. Not only does she have deep knowledge herself from living on the island and working in Saint Lucia''s utilities, but she also includes stakeholder consultation as a critical part of her work to design climate finance project proposals. She meets with the engineers, the healthcare workers, the utility representatives, and others across sectors to make sure that critical perspectives are taken into consideration. "I always knew this sort of consultation was important, but it''s never been so evident," Carasco says. "Bringing those diverse perspectives and knowledge together helps ensure the success of a project."
Carasco''s work as a CFAN advisor connects her closely with her RMI colleagues and efforts to mobilize climate finance for truly catalytic change. RMI has established Project Preparation and Development Facilities (PPDFs) in the Caribbean and other regions to help utilities and project developers in the most vulnerable, early stages of clean energy projects, to ensure projects can receive the necessary funding to come on line. Project preparation and development activities include aligning the ecosystem of local partners to ensure project success; facilitating the necessary pre-project development investment tasks including economic analysis, site suitability, and land acquisition; and influencing the necessary policy and regulatory reform needed.
As part of this, Carasco is currently working in collaboration with RMI''s Islands Energy Program on several clean energy projects in Saint Lucia, comprised of eight solar and battery storage microgrids at critical facilities, including water treatment centers. She describes it as an opportunity to build the resilience of institutions and communities that rely on this critical infrastructure, in particular increasing resilience of St Lucia''s main hospital, which serves more than 60 percent of the population. Schools will also benefit, as well as the island''s emergency response coordination, which can be problematic during big storms like Tomas.
Microgrids will not only enhance the resilience of the island''s infrastructure and economy, but will also help lower energy costs. Currently Saint Lucians primarily rely on imported diesel fuel, which is expensive and volatile, heavily impacted by the geopolitical environment. The pressures of fuel prices have contributed to an increased cost of living and crimes of desperation and displacement. But money saved from implementing a distributed, renewable grid can be redirected to social programs.
Carasco''s colleague, Nadia Wells-Hyacinth, the chief economist for the Government of Saint Lucia says that Carasco "has distinguished herself by her expertise, experience, confidence and commitment. We have very high expectations of Skeeta as the first representative of the Caribbean Cohort." She describes Carasco as an integral member of St. Lucia''s climate finance teams and adds, "We are encouraged by her enthusiasm, commitment and zeal to advance our climate finance agenda."
While working on funding proposals might seem like just a small piece of the puzzle, Carasco describes the role of a CFAN advisor as "finally connecting the dots." She is in a position to see the big picture and draw the necessary connections for funders to both meet the needs and enhance impact across projects and sectors.
"CFAN has allowed me to connect the dots between critical infrastructure work, climate resilience, and the needs of communities," Carasco says. "I am now in the best position to make a difference, because finance is the biggest challenge that Caribbean countries face."
The National Utilities Regulatory Commission Hosts Kick-off Meeting for Micro Grid Feasibility Study in Saint Lucia
About Saint lucia energy storage for microgrids
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Saint lucia energy storage for microgrids have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
When you're looking for the latest and most efficient Saint lucia energy storage for microgrids for your PV project, our website offers a comprehensive selection of cutting-edge products designed to meet your specific requirements. Whether you're a renewable energy developer, utility company, or commercial enterprise looking to reduce your carbon footprint, we have the solutions to help you harness the full potential of solar energy.
By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Saint lucia energy storage for microgrids featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
