This article examines advancements being made by both public utility companies and independent energy companies in both utility scale and distributed generation technology within the Caribbean coming upon a number of considerations that should be entertained during the development of supportive and enabling policy.
Island regions and isolated communities represent an understudied area of not only clean energy development but also of innovation .Caribbean states have for some time shown interest in developing a regional sustainable energy policy and in implementing measures which could help to protect its member states from volatile oil markets while promoting reliance on local resources.
Here the researchers examine four prominent advancements being made by both public utility companies and independent energy companies in both utility scale and distributed generation technology within the Caribbean coming upon a number of considerations that should be entertained during the development of supportive and enabling policy.
Researchers found that different degrees of regulatory and legislative sophistication have evolved in the energy sectors of different islands. In order to advance alternative energy technologies different islands thus have very different policy focuses moving forward over the short term.
Researchers also conduct a cost benefit analysis of these projects which shows that these early, innovative alternative energy projects show themselves to be profitable and to be significan t sources of emissions reduction and job creation. This lends support to the potential benefits of regional energy policy.
[adapted from author abstract]