The Caribbean Energy Security Initiative (CESI) aims to boost energy security and sustainable economic growth in the region by attracting investment in a range of energy technologies through a focus on improved governance, increased access to finance, and strengthened coordination among energy donors, governments, and stakeholders. Since CESI’s launch, the United States has taken significant steps in a number of concrete areas:
Governance
Through targeted technical and policy assistance programs, the United States partners with governments to put in place the legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks required to introduce new technologies and approaches to managing electricity load in small island markets, while also recognizing that electric utilities need to stay financially viable. U.S. agencies have provided technical assistance to a number of Caribbean island nations, including St. Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Antigua and Barbuda.
Finance
U.S. development finance can catalyze private sector interest and investment in the region and help demonstrate that the Caribbean can be an attractive location for a wide range of well-prepared clean energy projects. Since CESI’s launch, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has financed over $120 million in energy deals in the Caribbean. Through the Clean Energy Finance Facility for the Caribbean and Central America (CEFF-CCA), jointly implemented by OPIC, and USAID, the United States is providing up to $20 million in grant funding to help promising projects address early stage development challenges and achieve bankability.
Donor Coordination
The United States is providing technical support to the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to implement a virtual platform to facilitate regional energy planning, program development, and project deployment. This platform will serve to improve communication and coordination among international energy assistance partners and between these partners and regional governments to reduce duplication of effort, minimize burden on overtaxed energy ministry staff, and ensure the support that development partners offer is in line with what the region requests.