DOE to Support Clean Energy Projects in Costa Rica and the Caribbean
January 8, 2010
DOE announced January 8 that it has selected three initial projects under the Low-Carbon Communities of the Americas (LCCA) program, which was launched in June 2009 to assist countries in Latin America with sustainable energy market transformation initiatives. The three projects include an energy efficiency center in Costa Rica, a project to study and install small wind turbines on the Caribbean island of Dominica, and a broader effort to create low-carbon communities in the Caribbean.
The Costa Rican energy efficiency center will train professionals in energy efficient technologies and auditing procedures and help expand the technical knowledge base and capabilities of countries across Central America. The project will bring together DOE; the Natural Resources Defense Council; ICE Grupo, Costa Rica's electricity and telecommunications group; and the University of Costa Rica. In Dominica, small wind turbines will be examined in terms of available technologies, economics, feasibility, commercialization strategies, and impacts on the electrical grid, leading to the pilot installation of turbines and a public information campaign. Dominica is also part of a broader effort in the Caribbean, under which the Organization of American States and selected Caribbean governments will enable participating countries to expand the development and use of renewable energy and energy efficiency systems. The project will also involve the island governments of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Through the LCCA program, DOE invited countries to submit proposals for collaboration in areas including renewable energy development and building and industrial energy efficiency. DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, along with other national laboratories, will provide technical assistance to countries receiving support under the initiative. See the DOE press release.