Energy
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, […]
CUC will battle in court to keep solar secrets
(CNS): Officials at the Caribbean Utilities Company have told CNS that their decision to challenge the release of two reports that CUC prepared for OfReg relating to the bidding process for future power generation is to protect “commercially sensitive information” that could help competitors in any future bids. The company also said it was in […]
Utility solar needed to avert power crisis, says CUC boss
(CNS): Richard Hew, the president and CEO of CUC, Grand Cayman’s electricity provider, has warned that the island is facing a power generation crisis because the company has surpassed its ability to meet peak demand with its existing fixed diesel generators and is currently resorting to temporary, leased machines to meet it. With the rapid […]
CUC denies conflict, blames licensing obligation
(CNS): Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) has claimed it is not conflicted over the bidding process for the generation of renewable power, even though it worked with OfReg to shape the bid. Officials have said that under CUC’s Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Licence, it is obligated to assist the regulator with the facilitation of competitive bids […]
Students urge support for energy policy
(CNS): Local youth environmental activist group Protect Our Future recently hosted a demonstration and presentation of letters in front of the Government Administration Building last week to show their support for the plans and goals set out in the government’s revised National Energy Policy and to urge others to help roll out the adoption of […]
Renewables are the way forward, says ministry
(CNS): The Ministry of Sustainability has said that the draft revised National Energy Policy makes it clear that renewable energy is the way forward for Cayman and that any use of other fuels is expected to be just an interim measure that should not increase the cost of bills. The comments follow the revelation that […]
CUC still planning to burn natural gas
(CNS): CUC has announced that it is looking for qualification submissions from prospective natural gas suppliers as part of its effort to reduce the cost of energy production and carbon emissions. But the decision comes in the wake of the government’s revised National Energy Policy (NEP), which now calls for a 100% transition to green […]
Policy calls for drivers to go electric by 2045
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government is hoping that by 2045, every new car imported into the Cayman Islands will be an electric vehicle (EV) — part of the proposed new National Energy Policy (NEP), which aims to cut the islands’ greenhouse gas emissions and reduce pollution on the roads. In the long term, all new […]
Policy falls short of a legal right to green energy
(CNS): The draft updated National Energy Policy includes changes promoting more equitable access to green energy sources. But officials have said the proposed new implementation plan only considers consumers’ right to access the national grid but doesn’t mandate it. Fourteen years after the CORE programme began, only 3.5% of local power comes from renewables, and […]
People invited to energy policy online town hall
(CNS): The Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency and the Energy Policy Council are hosting a digital town hall meeting on Wednesday as part of the public consultation for the draft updated National Energy Policy 2023-2050. People with questions on the new policy will be able to submit them in advance or during the forum […]
Ten housing trust homes to get solar refit
(CNS): The Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency has started working with a socio-economic consultant to help select ten National Housing Development Trust homes for an energy efficiency retrofit and rooftop solar. This project and another to retrofit public buildings, which are both being funded by a European Union grant of more than €1.2 million […]
