UAE Announces new Funding Agreements under $50 Mn Caribbean RE Fund

The UAE-Caribbean RE Fund has entered into the second cycle of its 3-year plan to build climate-resilient renewable energy projects in 16 Caribbean nations

The UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund (UAE-CREF) has entered into the second cycle of its three-year plan to build climate-resilient renewable energy projects in 16 Caribbean nations, successfully completing new development and funding agreements for the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.

The announcement was made at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2020.

Under the new development and funding agreements, a solar photovoltaic (PV) carport and rooftop project will be built in the Dominican Republic; a solar PV and battery hybrid project will be developed for the village of Dondon, Haiti; a solar PV and battery hybrid plant will be constructed on the island of Wakenaam, Guyana; and a  solar PV and battery hybrid project is planned for Carriacou in Grenada. In Saint Kitts and Nevis, two solar PV desalination plants will be developed, while Suriname will receive a solar PV and battery hybrid plant and Trinidad and Tobago, a solar PV carport. 

Fully financed by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for economic development aid, UAE-CREF is a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), ADFD and Masdar, which is leading the design and implementation of the selected projects.

His Excellency Sultan Al Shamsi, assistant minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development Affairs, said “the UAE-Caribbean collaboration comes within the framework of the UAE’s Foreign Aid Policy and five-year strategy, which is committed to assisting Small Island Developing States to achieve their national priorities and Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all; taking urgent action to combat climate change; and achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. 

“It is our hope that these new agreements will enable beneficiaries to bolster their defences against climate change while further pursuing energy independence in the long term.”

Clean energy projects in the Bahamas, Barbados, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were inaugurated in March 2019, while construction is expected to begin this year in Belize, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda, which will see the rebuilding of the power system on hurricane-devastated Barbuda.