USAID/Caribbean Clean Energy Program Quarterly Report

The purpose of USAID's Caribbean Clean Energy Program is to assist the countries of the Caribbean, with particular emphasis on Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean, in establishing effective policy and regulatory environments, as well as incentives, for greater energy efficiency and for low-emission growth in the energy sector. Attracting public- and private-sector investment in clean energy development is a closely related objective. The project focuses on five major tasks: improving the enabling environment for clean energy development, optimizing variable renewable energy integration, accelerating private sector clean energy investment, energy efficiency benchmarking in the hotel and tourism sector, and coordination and promotion of USAID and USG inter-agency activities in the energy sector and sharing lessons learned with other island nations. CARCEP has made significant progress in these areas, with notable achievements including the completion of scoping missions and country prioritization tasks, establishment of warm relations with key stakeholders, and the launch of the Jamaica chapter of the Council for Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL). In Task 1, CARCEP has confirmed that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is planning to fund the development of an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining (MSTEM). CARCEP is working with IDB to determine if a resiliency component will be included in the IRP development process and how best to support the IDB-funded IRP development process. CARCEP has also identified alignment of data requirements by MSTEM and the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) as a high priority for both IRP and new price cap tariff process development. In Task 2, CARCEP has met individually with MSTEM, OUR, Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), Jamaica Power Company (JPC), Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and financial institutions to gather private sector and governmental views on needed incentives for clean energy projects. MSTEM has indicated willingness to consider new incentives, but emphasized priority must be on implementation of the 2015 Electricity Act and OUR Act amendments. CARCEP has proposed a data requirements workshop to OUR and has briefed JPS, receiving initial positive reception. CARCEP has also made progress in Task 3, supporting relevant ministries in developing clean energy policies, implementation guidelines, and technical standards. Stakeholder working sessions have been completed, and a gap analysis report has been completed. CARCEP has met individually with key stakeholders to gather private sector and governmental views on needed incentives for clean energy projects. Overall, CARCEP has made significant progress in its first quarter, with notable achievements in scoping missions, country prioritization, and stakeholder engagement. The program continues to work towards its objectives of establishing effective policy and regulatory environments, as well as incentives, for greater energy efficiency and for low-emission growth in the energy sector.