TCI delegation attends Renewable Energy Conference in Miami

#TurksandCaicos, May 23, 2023 – Hon. Otis Morris, Minister responsible for Energy and Utilities led a TCIG contingent to the 15th annual Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) held in Miami USA on April 26th -28th, 2023. More than 450 public and private sector leaders from across 50 countries met in Miami late last month and discussed Caribbean renewable energy market opportunities and challenges.

The Renewable Energy Forum provided a platform to discuss energy transition in changing geopolitical tension, the pressure to decarbonize, and the critical need for energy independence. The challenge is “how do we get the clean energy transition aligned with the United Nations’ target to achieve net-zero emission”.

The TCI delegation participated in two important pre-conference workshops: the Island Resilience Action Challenge (IRAC 2023) and a Hydrogen Summit (H2-Caribbean 2023). It was agreed during IRAC that one of the serious obstacles is “the lack of critical regulatory mechanisms to enable finance of investment needed”.  Hon. Morris was also elected as one of the 20 Task Force members to steer activities towards achieving the goals of a smooth energy transition particularly in the TCI. The Government is seriously addressing the regulatory framework for the TCI and hopes for it to be in place this year. Details about the IRAC 2023 can be found at https://goadvancedenergy.com/irac-2023.

The forum featured a CREF Ministerial panel where Hon. Morris joined regional ministerial counterparts to address the question “Are we delivering on energy security and climate resilience for the region”. Hon. Morris shared that “Energy security is a critical issue for the Turks and Caicos Islands which relies heavily on imported fossil fuels for its energy needs. It is no secret that we, just like many other countries in the region, struggle with a higher-than-normal cost of energy. The Turks and Caicos Islands is on a journey to a sustainable energy future and that journey has not always been a smooth one but we know that fundamental to any success we will achieve will be ensuring a strong regulatory framework is in place to guide the process and that the cost of electricity is affordable for all”. He further stressed that “the government has prioritized the need for this transition and are committed to implementing policies, legislation and funding to support the transition”.

The honourable Minister was accompanied by Deputy Permanent Secretary – TeAnn Thomas, Energy and Utilities Commissioner – Delano Arthur, Energy Analyst – Eric Salamanca and TCI RESEMBID SEP Project Officer – Zepherinus Norbert who in addition to attending the sessions engaged in various networking sessions and meetings with potential partners to hasten a smooth transition to green energy in TCI.

The event was sponsored by various entities such as the Advanced Energy Group, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the World Bank, and the Government of Canada, all of which are actively working within the region to assist small island nations with the transition to clean energy.