The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved a USD350,000 grant to assist utilities and relevant stakeholders across the Region to develop, plan and design energy storage and grid modernisation solutions, which could accelerate the Caribbean’s shift to clean energy.

The technical assistance, provided through the Canadian Support to the Energy Sector in the Caribbean (CSES-C) Fund, will support at least six individual grid modernisation and/or energy storage proposals from the Bank’s Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs).

Tessa Williams-Robertson, Head, Renewable Energy/ Energy Efficiency Unit, CDB explained, “This technical assistance is an important stepping stone in our efforts to assist our BMCs in meeting their energy targets. It seeks to incentivise utilities to embark on electricity grid modernisation and energy storage projects, thereby advancing the transition of the electricity sector and increasing the deployment of variable RE.”

“Through this project, utilities and energy stakeholders will receive the support and technical advisory services needed to identify suitable investments in energy storage and grid modernisation technologies, and properly plan for implementation and operational management,” Williams-Robertson added.

The CSES-C Fund, established in 2016 to provide technical assistance over a four-year period, has supported 15 technical assistance projects since its launch. Grant resources of CAD5 million, provided by Government of Canada to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), supports public and private actors in the energy sector in CDB’s BMCs.

The energy storage and grid modernisation project is consistent with the Bank’s strategic objective of supporting inclusive growth and sustainable development within its Borrowing Member Countries. It also aligns with CDB’s corporate priorities of strengthening and modernising economic and social infrastructure and promoting environmental sustainability. It is also consistent with the Bank’s Energy Sector Policy and Strategy and Technical Assistance Policy and Operational Strategy.