USAID Caribbean Clean Energy Program Year 3 First Quarter Report, October 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017

The program's purpose is to assist certain Caribbean countries, with emphasis on Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean, in establishing effective policy and regulatory environments for greater energy efficiency and low-emission growth in the energy sector. The program also works with the public and private sectors to spur investment in Clean Energy (CE) development. The program has six major task areas: Improve 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, Coordination and Promotion of USAID and United States Government (USG) Inter-Agency Activities in the Energy Sector, and Coordination with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In addition to these tasks, the program focuses on cross-cutting areas, including the Innovation Fund, promotion of gender equality, measurement and evaluations, and communication. In late September 2017, USAID CARCEP was notified that USAID would not be able to continue funding the project through its original close date in March 2020. As a result, USAID CARCEP is facing an early closeout, currently estimated for mid-2018. Significant planning was required in Quarter 1 FY18 to determine the final activities for each task and to ensure the project's successful closeout. Task 1: Improve Enabling Environment for Clean Energy Development focused on creating a favorable policy and regulatory environment for Clean Energy development. This included working with government agencies and stakeholders to develop and implement policies and regulations that support the growth of Clean Energy. The task also involved providing technical assistance to government agencies to help them develop the capacity to implement and enforce Clean Energy policies and regulations. Task 2: Optimizing Variable Renewable Energy Integration aimed to increase the integration of variable renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, into the energy grid. This task involved working with utilities and other stakeholders to develop and implement policies and technologies that support the integration of variable renewable energy sources. The task also involved providing technical assistance to utilities to help them develop the capacity to integrate variable renewable energy sources into their systems. Task 3: Accelerating Private Sector Clean Energy Investment focused on spurring investment in Clean Energy development by the private sector. This task involved working with private sector companies to develop and implement Clean Energy projects, and providing technical assistance to help them overcome barriers to investment. The task also involved developing and implementing policies and regulations that support the growth of Clean Energy investment. Task 4: Energy Efficiency Benchmarking in the Hotel and Tourism Sector aimed to improve energy efficiency in the hotel and tourism sector. This task involved working with hotels and other stakeholders to develop and implement energy efficiency measures, and providing technical assistance to help them overcome barriers to energy efficiency. The task also involved developing and implementing policies and regulations that support the growth of energy efficiency in the hotel and tourism sector. Task 5: Coordination and Promotion of USAID and United States Government (USG) Inter-Agency Activities in the Energy Sector focused on coordinating and promoting inter-agency activities in the energy sector. This task involved working with other USG agencies to develop and implement policies and programs that support the growth of Clean Energy, and providing technical assistance to help them overcome barriers to Clean Energy development. Task 6: Coordination with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) aimed to coordinate and promote Clean Energy development with CARICOM member states. This task involved working with CARICOM member states to develop and implement policies and programs that support the growth of Clean Energy, and providing technical assistance to help them overcome barriers to Clean Energy development. Cross-cutting areas, including the Innovation Fund, promotion of gender equality, measurement and evaluations, and communication, were also a focus of the program. The Innovation Fund provided grants to support the development of new Clean Energy technologies and business models. The promotion of gender equality involved working with stakeholders to develop and implement policies and programs that support the participation of women in Clean Energy development. Measurement and evaluations involved monitoring and evaluating the program's progress and impact. Communication involved disseminating information about the program's activities and results to stakeholders and the public.