Tag: solar energy
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
OfReg finds consultants for solar market review
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) has awarded a CI$78,000 contract to consultants to conduct a ‘Value Of Solar Study’ to help the country move towards its renewable energy goals. OfReg is responsible for regulating the emerging solar sector and this is a small step in the long process towards that aim. In […]
OfReg ‘surprised’ by PACT policy on green energy
(CNS): Heavily redacted minutes from an OfReg extraordinary board meeting on 2 May show that the utilities regulator was caught off guard by the PACT Government’s recent policy announcement to ensure public ownership of future green energy facilities. CNS has learned that OfReg had also failed to tell the Cabinet about its own plans, after […]
CIG to control future renewable assets in new policy
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government is seeking to take control of the country’s future green energy resources through majority ownership of new solar or other renewable energy facilities. Premier Wayne Panton announced the major new policy direction on Wednesday at a forum in Miami, when he outlined the goal for government and the public to […]
OfReg opens bid for 23MW solar plant
(CNS): The utilities regulator is looking for expressions of interest from qualified bidders to build a dispatchable solar photovoltaic (DPV) plant and an energy storage facility. The quest for this new plant is part of the country’s efforts to reduce its diesel dependence and a step towards the extremely ambitious target of generating 70% of […]
HSA expects to cut costs with solar panels
(CNS): Work at the George Town hospital installing a solar array and one of the largest rooftop installations of solar panels and equipment in the Cayman Islands has finished. The Health Services Authority (HSA) said that this places the hospital among the corporate leaders for environmental sustainability and green initiative among government agencies.
