ABU DHABI — During the recent events of the IRENA General Assembly, the United Arab Emirates-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, valued at $50 million, has launched its second funding cycle by establishing partnerships with seven new Caribbean countries.
Timed to coincide with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2018 it had the aim of promoting its role in developing the renewable energy sector in Belize, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia.
During the fund’s announcement on the sidelines of 8th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, General Assembly, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, has stated that the UAE has a prominent international role in promoting renewable energy solutions and finding effective solutions to key challenges facing renewable energy projects and innovations, which is reflected in the availability of necessary funding and investments in the country.
Al Zeyoudi added that the UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, which was launched last year during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017 to finance a series of renewable energy projects, is one of the country’s key initiatives to promote relevant global energy solutions.
The announcement on the launch of the fund’s second funding cycle, which will include establishing projects in the nine Caribbean countries and add to existing projects in five countries in the region that were launched during the first funding cycle, highlights the UAE’s commitment to support international efforts related to the global transformation of energy, he further added.
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said that these new projects, which will help to consolidate the UAE’s relations with Caribbean countries, have promising qualities in terms of decreasing economic costs, limiting environmental pollution, improving the living standards of the people of these countries, and enhancing the services offered to them.
Through the fund, there are opportunities for geothermal energy projects in the Caribbean for funding under this funding cycle.
With a strong presence and discussion surrounding small islands states and their efforts to tackle challenges faced by climate change and create a weather resilient and apply renewable energy technology, geothermal provides a great option for many of the Caribbean islands.