Energy
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 […]
Cayman has room for full rollout of renewables
(CNS): The suggestion that Cayman doesn’t have room to accommodate enough solar panels or wind turbines to generate all of its power from renewables has been debunked in the government’s new draft National Energy Policy. The revised policy, which is even more ambitious than the last one, has a target of generating 100% of our […]
Draft energy policy review to go to public
(CNS): More than six years after the National Energy Policy was first published, Cabinet has approved the publication of a draft updated policy and the rollout of a 30-day public consultation period. The policy, which is expected to be posted online in the coming days, covers Cayman’s energy needs and how they will be achieved […]
OfReg clears more piecemeal CUC green capacity
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) has given CUC the green light to release another 6MW of capacity for the Consumer-Owned Renewable Energy (CORE) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) programmes in the continuing piecemeal approach to the adoption of renewable energy in Cayman. As the clock ticks on the government’s unrealistic goal to […]
CORE rates for solar are fair to all, says CUC
(CNS): Grand Cayman’s power provider has said it will not increase the rates it currently pays for solar energy generated by customers in its CORE programme. Responding to a statement by the Cayman Renewable Energy Association, CUC said it is not against rooftop consumer solar but it “does not support paying inflated prices for energy” […]
CREA blames CUC for stalled adoption of green energy
(CNS): The rapid uptake of the latest release of just 3MWs of renewable energy capacity under CUC’s CORE programme is due to the “scarcity and artificial demand” intentionally created by CUC and allowed by OfReg, according to Cayman Renewable Energy Association Chairman James Whittaker. In a statement posted on social media, he said the latest […]
CUC opens grid for another 3MW of renewables
(CNS): As Cayman continues its painstakingly slow adoption of renewable energy, OfReg has cleared the release of three more megawatts of power for CUC’s CORE and DER Programmes, which allow customers to connect their solar and wind-generated power to CUC’s grid. While it is only a fraction of the power consumed each day, it was […]