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Five projects selected under renewable energy funding from the UAE

Five projects selected under renewable energy funding from the UAE Petit St. Vincent (PSV), Winward Island, The Grenadines, Caribbean (source: flickr/ lyng883, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 26 Sep 2017

Five projects have been selected under a $50 million funding round by UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, among them likely the geothermal project in St. Vincent and Grenadines.

As reported from the United Arab Emirates, five projects have been selected for funding under the US$50 million UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund (the Fund) across Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The projects will significantly reduce energy costs in the region, as well as improve resilience to natural disasters such as Hurricane Irma.

Announced in January 2017, the Fund is a partnership between the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), which leads the initiative; the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), which provides the grant financing; and Masdar, which is responsible for technical management and international, competitive project tendering.

The projects represent the first funding cycle. The Fund aims to announce projects with up to 16 Caribbean countries over the next two to three years.

“We are honoured to open this new chapter in the growing UAE-Caribbean relationship,” said Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation.

With earlier grant funding provided for the St. Vincent and Grenadines geothermal project by the fund, it is expected that funding announced now for this Caribbean island state is for this project. We will report on it if we find out more.

The St. Vincent & Grenadines geothermal project is being planned as a 10 MW project driven by Emera Caribbean Inc. and Reykjavik Geothermal, in association with the government of the island state.

Source: Khaleej Times