UPM green-lights new 2045 target in energy policy
(CNS): Cabinet has finally approved an updated National Energy Policy more than seven months after the draft was published. In a press release about the decision to accept the revised and more ambitious plan, drafted under Wayne Panton as the sustainability minister, the Cayman Islands Government acknowledged that the process needs to move more quickly, especially as it is now targeting 2045 for the transformation to 100% green energy and 70% by 2037.
The release said that, given Cayman’s current situation, “accelerating our progress” towards replacing diesel with 100% renewable energy in just over 20 years was important.
The revised policy now also includes residents’ right to produce and self-consume up to 20 kilowatts of solar energy and use battery energy storage. It is hoped that encouraging residents to take a direct part in the transition will put Cayman on track to reach the targets.
However, this will not be easy. Eight years after CUC launched its CORE programme, allowing domestic solar users to stay connected to the grid, feeding in and taking energy out, only 3% of Cayman’s electricity comes from renewables.
The policy also defines utility-scale solar as 5 megawatts or greater, which the Ministry of Sustainability said would clarify the regulatory framework.
“The strategies within the policy lay the groundwork for a cleaner, more resilient energy landscape that will benefit current and future generations, and it also paves the way to combat the cost of living by reducing the cost of energy,” Sustainability Minister Kathy Ebanks-Wilks, who was not involved in drafting the new policy, said in a press release about the policy document.
Noting how ambitious the goals outlined by the updated policy were, she said, “The government maintains an assertive stance, and we recognise the importance of accelerating our progress. By prioritising renewable energy and sustainable practices, we not only safeguard our environment but [are] also laying the foundation for a brighter tomorrow.”
The implementation and monitoring plan outlines various strategies to support the revised target of achieving 100% renewable energy penetration by 2045. Some of these strategies include making it a priority for the regulator to solicit and approve utility-scale renewable energy projects and developing a consumer financing scheme to redirect payments from solar production to third-party financiers, subject to customer approval.
The policy also includes strategies to facilitate the transition to 100% electric vehicles by 2045. This involves assessing policies to encourage electric vehicle adoption and investing in electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the Islands. The plan supports the implementation of more sustainable alternatives, such as “encouraging the use of electric vehicles for a public transportation fleet”, a project that is still making very slow progress.
The ministry said it will conduct a review of the policy in two years to ensure that the goals and implementation strategies remain feasible and aligned with global efforts to combat climate change.
The green light on the plan comes during an accelerating dispute between Grand Cayman’s monopoly power provider, CUC, and the local advocacy organization, Cayman Renewable Energy Association, which has played out into the public domain.
CUC accuses CREA of wanting too much money for solar power and hindering the development of cheaper utility-scale solar. CREA has, in turn, accused CUC of trying to maintain complete control over the future green energy market, of undermining the growth of domestic solar by limiting access to the grid and being too close to the regulator and the drafting of competitive bids of which they take part.
However, CREA President James Whittaker welcomed the government’s adoption of the policy, especially given its revised timeframe and the rights of consumers to generate solar energy and have access to the grid. “This represents the biggest positive change for consumer solar in Cayman to date,” he told CNS shortly after the document was published Friday evening.
CUC has not yet commented on the newly released policy document, which may cause issues for the company. It will have to increase the access it allows for domestic solar, and the new target date of 2045 of 100% renewable reduces the time CUC has to use LNG as a transitional fuel.
The company is set to spend a considerable amount adapting some of its existing diesel generators to accept gas. Senior executives at the company don’t believe there is any technical solution available in Cayman for 100% green energy. They stated recently that solar is intermittent, and there is nowhere suitable for a utility-scale wind farm as a backup.
See the full policy document in the CNS Library.
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Category: Energy, Policy, Politics, Science & Nature
there is no-one in cig or civil service with expertise or qualifications to tackle this issue.
civil service/cig is filled with poorly educated people with zero ability to tackle these issues.
if we can’t be honest and face these facts we will never be closer to a solution.
You obviously haven’t read the policy, with such an irrelevant comment.
If you see how much responsibility is being vested in or shifted to OfReg or CIG to fulfill the action items, you might actually see the comment is now significantly relevant.
too little too late for caymanian poorly educated mla’s who have spent decades literally sticking their heads in the sand regarding climate risks…..
just another day in wonderland.
After Hurricane Ivan, our centralised electricity generation plant was back up and running within a few days. When the Island is dependent on a de-centralised system of rooftop solar generation that is owned by hundreds, if not thousands, of separate owners, how long do you think it will take to get back to 100% generation after a similar disaster? It doesn’t sound like a particularly robust way to supply electricity.
Perhaps it was a few days for you, but it was 3 months for me. My roof was fine, solar would have been a blessing.
The experience in other countries has been the reverse, with distributed / community solar (lets call them hubs) allowing faster energy return to those districts / areas.
And of course lets not forget that post-Ivan wasn’t really ‘a few days’ for the entire Grand Cayman since it’s DISTRIBUTION not just generation that takes a hit. – And also that Ivan electricity recovery was a blessed fortune of crews & supplies being nearby that could be redirected ‘in a few days’.
None of this is a knock on CUC for what they have done, in general and post-Ivan, or continue to do. Its just recognizing that we can do things a little better.
My roof had solar panels and back up at the time, still does. There was no damage to my roof or panels and no power cut at the property. With solar, only some but not all power would be wiped out.
It amazing to write this entire comment out and lack the comprehension to see how this would be a good thing. Who argues for a monopoly on a utility lol?
The planet is already >+1.5’C, so any target date beyond “immediately/asap” is an extension of a long period of previous fails. Setting a target 21 years beyond the action deadline, means you don’t understand the stakes, or purpose of the exercise, and paints those involved as unfit to make astute data-driven decisions.
Yes we (Cayman and the world) are going to be too late. But if you think Cayman can transition faster than essentially 0 – 100% in a decade I think you’re wrong. We (Cayman & world) are going to have to ride out a lot of pain as our transition plays catch-up with the change that is already locked in.
The world might be late, but Cayman is tiny, wealthier than average, and (for now) still has some educated people with the personal means and attitude to do better. We could adapt much faster without the perennial drag of corruption on our lives. Resigning ourselves to political; incompetence is not a plan.
For clarification Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks was instrumental in the both the final drafting and passage of the new National Energy Policy. Along with Kristen Smith and the ministry team as well as the other elected officials; they should be commended by all for their hard work and vision in getting this policy over the finish line.
This is a meaningless policy paper, of gibberish TBDs, and deadlines 21 years past due. It’s not something to be proud of. Follow the link CNS provides to their library and READ IT James. You, of all vested parties, should be leading the outrage.
What delightful irony! If you follow the link and READ IT, you would note that James was the chairperson for the Energy Policy Council that worked on preparing the revisions to this policy.
UPM won’t exist in 2025 let alone 2045.
excellent piont..hence they don’t care and just release these plans about nothing full of soundbites.
every politician in cayman is in the same boat…all they care about is getting there paycheck and hopefully big fat pension.
We’ll have bigger problems by 2045 like whole communities inundated, roads impassible and it is very likely we could be wiped off the map by a super hurricane by then.
Has no one figured out yet that changing politicians every four years is not the solution. Is it really smart to believe that every election cycle we elect good people but as soon as they are elected they turn evil and corrupt and stop caring about the people who elected them and this has continued for the last forty or fifty years. When will logic or common sense come to forefront to see that while we change political bodies the system remains the same and it just leads to voter frustration as their expectations will never be met? We have a systematic problem in our way of Governance where we give the elected members responsibility and accountability with no authority. We have stripped all authority from them to hire, fire, spend, procure etc but we hold them accountable for making the changes required to improve our lives. That power is vested in the Civil Service which doesnt change every political cycle it continues and the problems continue and our solution is to change the politicians and hope for a different result.
We all best learn to swim or learn the way of the Scottish by 2045.
You mean the folks of Scotland who have just jettisoned their lofty climate change goals?
Today’s decision makers have no clue, even remotely, what they are doing. Total incompetence. Not even a pip squeak about what they are going to do with solar panels after their useful lives are over. End-of-Life Management for Photovoltaics Program anyone?
The morons are marching towards a cliff and the rest of the population is blindly following.
Future generations are doomed.
“The Plan” for net Zero for 2050
By the time we get to 2050, every single solar panel and wind turbine in use today will be beyond its useful life and most likely
buried in the Mountain of Shame aka The Landfill.
But how many will be still around, taking into account the speed with which our bodies and everything yet alive is literally plasticizing?
We’re heading towards the TRUE NET ZERO-life will cease to exist. Everything, including healthcare system, which is a major user of everything plastic, will be suffocated, literally, with microplastics.
And what Cayman’s contribution to prevent this from happening? Absolute zero.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13329269/How-Plastic-People-Startling-new-documentary-tracks-global-spread-toxic-microplastics-bottom-oceans-inside-human-brain-started-1950s-throwaway-living-idea.html
Not factually correct. Solar panels installed today will still be producing power albeit at a lower rate in 2050. And are more likely to be recycled.
Ask yourself which will come first, Re-gen or 100% solar power. The answer is zero. Cayman Island Government is totally dysfunctional 🤡🤡🤡
# Smash the CUC monopoly – replace with real competition
# Separate Generation from Distribution
# Net Metering Now – get rid of the discredited, hated and fundamentally flawed, CORE “program”
We can use cisterns for water, data/Apps for cell phone calls, BUT… we can’t use solar panels/wind turbines/wall batteries to their fullest extent due to CUC’s vice like grip on the throats of Cayman’s consumers….
Bury the power lines
Next time.
I say go wireless with power. We now have the Ministerial intellect to get this done. That would certainly disrupt CUC’s distribution monopoly.
2045? Might as well be 2054, or 2084 or 2145, meaning that it doesn’t matter, because it will be yet another can kicked down the road from this administration to the next, and the next will have their own ideas about how the money will be budgeted.
We are so screwed.
The Afterlife of Solar Panels
https://science.thewire.in/environment/solar-panels-waste-management/
“The major users of solar panels are currently China and the United States, but only Europe has taken steps to hold producers accountable for their waste.”
Compared to the afterlife of diesel?
Exactly. The 20,000+ year forever lifespan of extinction-level GHGE.
and nuclear waste?
Have they made a space on the Glasshouse shelf for this one already?
3.3.7.4 Assess policies to promote electric vehicle adoption in the Cayman Islands, including needs for EV charging infrastructure and additional electricity generation capacity required to meet increased demand from home and public EV. Such analysis shall consider the socioeconomic aspects of EVs including location of charging infrastructure and employment considerations and explore methods to promote EV uptake in disadvantaged communities. Policies shall also advance planning and permitting processes for EV charging infrastructure to increase efficiency, promote transparency, and decrease costs. Where possible charging EV’s using renewable energy sources should be prioritized and promoted over charging primarily with fossil fuels.
–> EVs aren’t new, so why hasn’t this 3.3.7.4 assessment exist already, and with continuous real-time update?
–> If a household’s load capacity is factored into district power needs, at max metered usage, then tapping some of the idle load center capacity to run a clothes dryer or an EV charger at 7kw, shouldn’t move impact CUC’s top line consumer deliverable at all. If it does, then that’s on CUC for cutting corners, not on consumers overloading what is already approved, metered household capacity. Which is it?
Notably: still no bicycle/scooter corridor deliverables as fundamental components of a passable modern urban transportation plan. How many retail gas stations do Cabinet members and donor groups control? Must be all of them. Smh.
Right now, in spring 2024, California has so much deployed rooftop solar that electricity rates for the state, have at times dipped negative for the first time ever. Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands Cabinet, proficient at nothing, continues to make it clear it doesn’t work for our consumer public. Instead, it has given CUC another 21 year free pass to catch up to the rest of the world, with equipment and technology that is perfectly capable of delivering renewable targets for consumer benefit this year.
A high degree of doubt still remains that OfReg will approve any utility scale renewable energy projects that pose an existential threat to CUC’s stranglehold monopoly over solar or whatever other renewable tech it aspires to monopolise.
The NEP document statements on page 15 are very telling regarding the closeness of OfReg and CUC. This statement in particular
Does not seem to indicate much if any short term leverage room for the consideration of outsider renewables provider proposals.
“ OfReg and CUC are currently planning renewable energy projects, in addition to the 16 MW of solar currently online. In 2022, OfReg issued two Request for Quotations (RFQs) for 1) up to 100 MW of solar PV (up to 60 MW of battery storage) by 2025; and 2) 23 MW of dispatchable solar PV with collocated storage by 2024.”
As for the rest, strategic statements are obvious and nice but there are no specific timelines stated or implied for achievement of incremental goals along the 20 year timeline to becoming 100% reliant on renewables. Surprisingly there is no fine print disclaimer buried somewhere seeing that there is provision for potentially moving the goalposts every 5 years after review by NEPRC. And who exactly holds EPIC, when it is appointed accountable for foot dragging, which of course is bound to happen seeing by how many players are involved?
With current runaway development on island CUC are once again rubbing their greedy hands together in anticipation. And with the full backing of OfReg, CUC are all set to make record profits and grab more than 85% of the renewables pie.
This all seems like pie in the sky with very little assurance of a fair deal again for consumers. I still hold the opinion that a foreign energy regulatory agency needs to adjudicate this transitional process as there is real potential for local agency and utility collusion.
They have just signed all our death warrants on this island. This is the most foolish thing the Caymanians have ever done in the history of these islands. They have surrendered our sovereignty to the UN’s 2030 agenda and climate change governance.
Bollocks
Based on the number of 👎 “they” and the general population of this territory are unbelievably stupid.
By 2045 every single solar panel in use today will be beyond its useful life and most likely buried in the landfill.
Solar panels last longer than 25 years. The 25 year life cycle is just a point where the energy produced by the panels dips below ~90% of its original capability. That does not mean you can not continue to use them well beyond that point. A good residential solar system will pay for it self may times over its “25 year” life cycle and many times after that.
Also solar panels can be recycled. It will be another failure of our government (I really hope they don’t fail this) if they do not set up a process where panels can be sent overseas to be recycled. The disposal cost should be collected at importation of the panels and that should be the only charge to bring in solar panels to the island.
Am I missing something? Why are we stupid?
Thanks for that little Tidbit. Tell that to the solar panels I have had on my roof for 25 years, without issue.
Perhaps you should buy better quality panels?
Perhaps you should learn to read.
This government has done the opposite: insulated CUC from having to seriously consider the global energy transition imperative for at least the next 21 years. Not surprised that you can’t read though.
gotta keep those guaranteed dividends coming…