The Renewable Energy Industry in CARIFORUM Countries

RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT

3.17.5 | EUROPEAN UNION

The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM has long worked with the Caribbean. One popular landmark is the European Partnership Agreement (EPA). The role of the Delegation is to promote the values and policies of the EU in an open and equal partnership with the Governments and people of the region. They seek to: • Implement development and trade policies focusing on poverty alleviation, democracy, etc. and the smooth and gradual integration of the countries into the world economy • Deepen the political dialogue on all issues of mutual interest and to strengthen the partnership • Support CARICOM regional integration as well as the planned development of regional policies, programmes and institutions The Delegation has an energy officer who focuses on the EU’s energy work in the Region. It routinely works with other international funding institutions (e.g. IDB/CDB and the European Investment Bank (EIB)) who manage country projects in order to finance proposed projects. Funding may go up to $12M for multi-country projects depending on the project while the Caribbean Investment Facility (CIF) has been financed up to $130M. Preferential support is extended to projects which are innovative, high risk or utilize mature technologies. For government programs the EU seeks to minimize risks by checking for enough capacity and expertise in the department of energy, observing regular communication, ongoing training and utilizing proven partner procedures (e.g. IDB’s). Assistance comes in the form of: • Bilateral support directly to government for budget support

• Regional support negotiated with CARICOM • Program support for specific national programs • Caribbean Investment Facility (CIF) for projects • Concessionary Loans

Bilateral allocations are much smaller than regional allocation with the largest in recent time being $18M. Other areas of interest include climate change, disaster risk reduction and capacity building but these are not allocated directly into the normal EDF cycle and should therefore be requested early to receive consideration. Requests are normally made by governments and not businesses directly, even if the disbursement eventually reach businesses.

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The Renewable Energy Industry in CARIFORUM Countries