BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, April 09, 2024 (SKNIS) – The Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC), and by extension the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, took a major step towards sustainability and green energy transition today, April 9, 2024, through the launch of the pioneering Caribbean Center of Excellence in Research, Innovation and Workforce Training (CRIWT) project.
The CRIWT Project is being implemented under an agreement between the CFBC and the Green Solution International SKN Incorporated (GSI), which is a non-governmental organisation that supports the region’s transition to renewable energy sources, and promotes environmental sustainability and resilience against climate change. Funding for the project is being provided through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme.
The Caribbean Center of Excellence in Research, Innovation and Workforce Training is expected to be a leading facility for training in Solar PV installation and electric vehicle (EV) maintenance and repairs, helping to transition the Federation into a hub for sustainable research in the field of green energy, innovation, and 21st-century workforce development.
Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew lauded CFBC and its partners for embarking on this bold initiative that aligns with the government’s own goals towards creating a sustainable future through the promotion of the use of renewable energy resources.
He stated further that his administration fully understands and appreciates that renewable energy is the gateway to the Federation’s economic and financial freedom. This, he said, is the reason why the government is moving swiftly and aggressively with its sustainable island state agenda, which has green energy transition as one of its pillars.
“In our sustainable island state plan, there are seven pillars and at the centre of it is energy and [through] that plan, which is so thought out, if we resolve the energy issue which is at the centre of the wheel…then all the others fall in line,” Dr. Drew said.
The six other pillars guiding the sustainable island state agenda are food security, economic diversification, sustainable industries, the Creative Economy, COVID-19 recovery, and social protection.
Moreover, Dr. Drew stated that the establishment of the Caribbean Center of Excellence in Research, Innovation and Workforce Training complements other initiatives being implemented by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis in the area of green energy, pointing specifically to the build-out of the solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage plant.
“If we are going to create a solar farm that is so large, and if we are saying to the world that we are going to become the first sustainable island state and we have taken that bold step, then we have to take the other bold step, which is to create the largest certification programme here in the OECS [Organization of Eastern Caribbean States] so that our people can be trained for those jobs. So we are going to take them right from the college to the job site so that they can see the purpose and essence of their work,” Prime Minister Dr. Drew said, noting that this conversation has already taken place with the principles of the solar farm.
The CRIWT project commences with a six-week train-the-trainer workshop. Through this workshop, participants will be engaged in five weeks of online, self-paced instruction and a one-week face-to-face practical component.