50+ Energy Stakeholders Harness the Power of Wind
Traditional energy systems within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) continue to find themselves at the mercy of fluctuations within the energy market, the limitations of traditional designs, and the unpredictable impacts of natural disasters. As a result, following plans outlined within the CARICOM Energy Policy, Member States are working assiduously to transition to renewable energy, relying heavily on energy diversification within their respective markets.
As renewable energy integration is a relatively new endeavour for the region, the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) has undertaken a series of workshops to build the capacity of energy actors within the region. With 50+ stakeholders in attendance, the CCREEE kicked off the virtual workshop series with a session on Wind Resource Assessment, facilitated by one of the CCREEE’s thematic hubs, the Wigton Wind Farms, located in Kingston, Jamaica, operators of the largest wind energy facility in the English-speaking Caribbean
The CCREEE is mandated to work alongside Member States on the development and delivery of Integrated Resource and Resilience Plans (IRRPs), the preferred method for energy sector development in the Region as countries consider varied sources of power to meet demand. Wind energy generation output has proven highly sensitive to location and wind speed, making a thorough understanding of the resource critical for its regional integration.
Training Coordinator and Engineer at Wigton Wind Farms, Mr. Sanja Simmonds, led stakeholders through a six-component presentation which served as a technical overview for one of the more technologically mature forms of renewable energy. By the end of the three-hour presentation, stakeholders were introduced to wind as an energy resource, wind extraction devices, wind resource assessments, and wind data collection, analysis, and quantification for wind farm development. A full recording of the workshop can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/WindIRRP and a copy of the presentation, here: http://bit.ly/PDFWindIRRP
The CCREEE-led IRRP Programme capacity development sessions are supported by the Climate Resilient and Sustainable Energy Supply (Cli-RES) project. Cli-Res is jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ in collaboration with the Energy Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat.
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