A new auction scheme aims to generate massive investment in solar and wind power over the next decade to help kick-start Cayman’s transformation to renewable energy.
The islands’ national energy policy has set a target that 70% of the jurisdiction’s electricity supply will come from renewable sources by 2037; that figure currently stands at around 5% – or 10 megawatts.
Utilities regulator OfReg aims to add 25 MW of power from utility scale solar annually for the next three years. It is also aiming to add 30 MW of wind power by 2028.
OfReg said, in a statement Sunday, that it would commit to a “pipeline of auctions” under the Renewable Energy Auction Scheme, to allow businesses to “bid against each other to supply energy through long-term contracts at the lowest possible price”.
The determination follows over a year of discussions between the regulator and industry representatives over the best and fairest means to attract investment in renewable energy production.
Malike Cummings, CEO of OfReg, said the auction framework had been successful in other jurisdictions and would provide a “transparent, competitive and robust” means to develop utility scale renewable energy projects without adding to the cost of consumers’ monthly power bills.
“The current Integrated Resource Plan projects 140 MW of utility-scale solar by the year 2030, and it is through the utilisation of tools such as the [auction scheme], we will be able to incentivise significant investments in renewable energy, that will drive economic development and job creation in the Cayman Islands.”
The new scheme is set to be implemented in early 2022 when a schedule of auctions will be announced.
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