The Government of St Kitts and Nevis through the Ministries of Environment, Energy and Climate Action has brought down the curtains on four days of engagements with regional and local stakeholders.
The talks began on Sunday 23rd October with Minister of Environment and Climate Action, The Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke and Minister of Energy and Utilities, the Hon. Konris Maynard and their Permanent Secretaries, Sharon Rattan and Daryll Lloyd, who met with representatives from the Caribbean Center for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the St Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC) and Nevis Electricity Company Ltd (NEVLEC) to propose the way forward to manage a resilient energy sector in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Minister Clarke said the partnership between the Ministries of Energy and Environment will concretize the approach to renewable energy, and energy security, in addition to energy for the most vulnerable.
“Importantly, we are forging a new decisive and committed partnership between St Kitts and Nevis as we develop this national resource,” she said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Energy and Utilities, The Hon. Konris Maynard said the proposals would provide decision-support to the Cabinet as it seeks to determine the appropriate energy pathway and renewable energy-mix which includes, solar, wind and geothermal, for the Federation.
Minister Maynard continued, “We are also pleased to discuss with NEVLEC the interconnection of the Electricity Grid in St. Kitts and the Electricity Grid in Nevis as an interconnection affords the Federation the opportunity to have One Grid thereby increasing the resilience of power supply across the two islands. This would mean that as St. Kitts expands its power-generation capacity, driven by renewable energy sources, Nevis can benefit. Similarly, as Nevis’ power supply expands to include renewable energy, St. Kitts can benefit.”
Following that meeting, the Cabinet of Ministers met with a delegation from the CDB thereby demonstrating its seriousness about aggressively pursuing energy and geothermal alternatives on both islands.
The representatives from the CDB then journeyed to Nevis to further their discussions with NEVLEC.
Closing out four days of engagements, SKELEC hosted an Energy Stakeholders National Consultation on Wednesday 26th October.
At this consultation, critical issues were raised by numerous regional and local stakeholders including engineers, financiers, environmentalists, and climate activists on creating the path for energy security.
Coming out of the discussions, it was determined that an Energy Task Force, among other things, will be established. This Task Force will ensure that the necessary support structures for the renewable energy project are in place.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action, Sharon Rattan and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Daryll Lloyd, will spearhead the newly created Energy Task Force.