Caribbean, Central America energy watch

Antigua and Barbuda needs US$440mn to enable wind, solar and hydrogen fuel cells to account for 47%, 40% and 13% of power generation by 2030.

That is according to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (Irena) roadmap for the Caribbean nation, which sources close to 97% of its energy needs through fossil fuel imports. 

“The recommended mix would reduce Antigua and Barbuda’s levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from around 15 cents per kilowatt hour today, to nine cents per kilowatt hour,” highlights the document.

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NiQuan Energy launched official operations of a gas to liquids plant at Pointe-à-Pierre in Trinidad and Tobago that the company touts as the first commercial plant of its type in the western hemisphere.

“The plant has a nameplate capacity of 2,400 barrels per day and produces high performance, low emissions energy products; GTL Paraffinic Diesel and GTL Naphtha, from natural gas,” NiQuan said in a statement.

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Jamaica power utility JPS issued a consultancy call to assess the feasibility of an electromobility fund and provide a technical design for the fund based on the recommendation from the feasibility assessment.

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The Guyana Energy Agency has launched bidding for small-scale solar photovoltaic systems and the delivery of efficient streetlights.

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Nicaragua’s national assembly approved a US$143mn loan contract that the government signed with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) to partially finance the country’s national sustainable electrification and renewable energy program PNESER.

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Panama’s state power transmission company Etesa has implemented a special protection system with remedial actions (SPEAR in Spanish) to help with real-time monitoring of the grid and detect and correct issues which may impact dispatch.