Resilient Power Ep.1- The Jamaica Public Services Corporation (JPS) shared their experience with their smart grid and energy storage systems in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic
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Panelists:

• Mr. Lincoy Small – Director of Systems Operations 

• Mr. Dwight Reid – Resource Planner

• Mr. Orlando Mckoy – Director T&D Asset Optimization 

• Mr. Ferris Stewart – Manager of Reliability and Asset Optimization

• Mr. Martyn Forde – CAREC Community Leader (moderator)

What does the future look like for the Caribbean electricity market? In this executive-level panel discussion, our host Martyn Forde will join a panel of Caribbean leaders from the utility industry and the financial sector. Join to learn the top priorities for ensuring the reliability of electricity services in the face of disruption, operational and business lessons learned through disaster recovery of major hurricane events, and the potential approaches needed for financing infrastructure and energy security in the Caribbean.

• Mr. Eddinton Powell – President & CEO at FORTIS TCI in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Former) 

• Mrs. Gillian Charles-Gollop – Executive Director of Corporate Investment Banking & Advisory Services at CIBC First Caribbean in Barbados 

• Dr. Justin Ram – Economist and CEO of Justin Ram Advisory Services and Founder & CEO of GSec

• Mr. Leroy A.E. Abraham – General Manager of the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC). (Former)

• Mr. David Gumbs 1 –Director at the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) 

Hurricane preparation and disaster planning are vital components of Caribbean utility operations. The COVID-19 Pandemic adds another layer of considerations for disaster preparation, response and recovery. In this webinar, the JPS team responsible for implementing hurricane protocols for the Jamaica Public Service Company (@JPS) share lessons on:

• Utility protocols and procedures for hurricane events
• Planning for system outages and safety procedures
• Proposed options for safe response during COVID-19 pandemic

• Sherika Frater-Gilpin – Generation Systems Operator 
• Karl Cowan – Manager of System Control 
• Charley M Parchment – Manager of Operations Planning
• Martyn Forde– CAREC Community Leader  

In November 2017, the Caribbean utility FORTIS TCI was able to recover in less than 60 days after the passing of Hurricane Irma. FORTIS TCI share their  insights into hurricane preparation for the 2020 hurricane season during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  

Key Insights:

• Natural disaster challenges faced by FORTIS TCI
• Disaster recovery best-practices
• The impact of COVID-19 on system electricity infrastructure in the Turks & Caicos Islands
• Utility considerations for implementing greater resilience to generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure

Panelists:

Mrs. Rachell Salao Roullet
Vice President – Innovation, Technology and Strategic Planning
FortisTCI
Tag: @rroullet

Mr. Devon Cox
Senior Vice President of Operations and Assistant Corporate Secretary
FortisTCI Limited
Tag: @Devon

The webinar from 2020 provided guidelines for future investors in the Barbados renewable energy sector, particularly solar photovoltaics, with a guide for how to develop a renewable energy project from conception to production. Main takeaways from the webinar are the following:

1. Contextualization of the Barbados Renewable Energy Market
2. The process for investing in roof top and ground mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems
3. How to incorporate resiliency into my system design;
4. The rules of thumb for baseline capacity estimates.

Description 

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are essential to the renewable energy transition in the Caribbean. In 2018, The Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd @BLPC installed utility-scale energy storage as a component of the 10 MW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) plant in the north of the island at Trent’s St. Lucy, Barbados.

 Key Insights:

• Lessons learned in the implementation and operation of the BESS
• The technical design process and utility motivations and plans for energy storage
• Safety protocols for operation of a BESS
• System modeling to support regulatory application for cost recovery
• Economic benefits and extended applications for storage

Panelists

Mrs. Charmaine Gill-Evans
Generation Engineer,
Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd. @BLPC
Tag: @CharmaineGillEvans

Mr. Robert Harewood
Distribution Engineer,
Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd. @BLPC
Tag: @Robert

Description:

CAREC welcomed the Bermuda Electric Light Company Ltd (BELCO) for episode 8 of the CAREC Resilient Power Series. The BELCO Nolan Smith Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is a 10 MW/5MWhr battery system on the island of Bermuda. Bermuda is in the transition process towards more resilient infrastructure.

Key Insights:

• Lessons learned from the design, implementation and operation of the BESS

• Bulk generation planning and risk assessment

• Utility operations planning beyond the BESS

• Stakeholder engagement process and training management for utilities

• Future considerations for resilient infrastructure

Panelists: Thank you to the team from @BELCO:

Stephanie Simons
Senior Engineer – BG Engineering & System Reliability
BELCO
tag: @sesimons

Ms. Giselle Hudson
Production Manager,
BELCO.
tag: @Hudson

Mr. Benson Phillip
Electrical and Instrumentation Maintenance Supervisor,
BELCO.
tag:@Bphillip

CAREC welcomes the Interenergy Group, The Consorcio Energético Punta Cana – Macao (CEPM), and Compaía de Electricidad de Bayahibe (CEB) for episode 9 of the CAREC Resilient Power Series. The CEPM team shared their experience with smart grid operations and how technology builds resilience into their operations in the east of the Dominican Republic. Panelists shared their utility’s solutions and explored:

• Role of smart grids for the future of Dominican Republic

• How CEPM plans for an increase in electric mobility

• Smart grids to improve information management and meter readings.

• Planning the energy transition – the business approach aimed at renewable energy.

Panelists: Thank you to the team from @CEPM:

Mr. Roberto Herrera

Dominican Republic Country Manager,
Director Interenergy Group CEPM
Managing Director of CEPM
tag: @rherrerap

Mr. Oscar San Martin
General Manager,
CEPM – CEB

Mr. Wellington Reyes
Commercial and Innovation Director,
CEPM-CEB

CAREC welcomed the Virgin Islands Energy Office, the St. Thomas Recovery Team (STRT), and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) for Episode 10 of the CAREC Resilient Power Series 2020. Hurricanes Maria and Irma were devastating for the US Virgin Islands. This session provided insight into the on the ground experience of the citizens and how coalitions of diverse community stakeholders are involved in the long-term emergency response, resource management, recovery, resilience planning and training. The Energy Office shared how the USVI plans for critical infrastructure development and resilience using microgrids. WAPA shared their experience and outlook for resilience planning within the electric power system of the US Virgin Islands (USVI).Key learning outcomes include:

• Disaster preparation and recovery at the community, government, and utility levels
• Microgrid planning for emergency centers and critical infrastructure
• COVID-19 considerations for disaster planning
• The WAPA Incident Command System

  

CAREC welcomed the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), FortisTCI, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) for Episode 11 of the CAREC Resilient Power Series 2020. The discussion focused on how guidelines and standards for solar photovoltaic design, training and implementation can create more resilient energy infrastructure in the Caribbean. The risk of hurricanes and natural disasters influences Caribbean utilities, institutions, businesses and communities to lead the implementation of resilient solar PV.

• CDB resilience training initiatives and financing options were explored
• CCI and RMI shared some of the critical findings of the Solar Under Storm studies
• @fneverson shared best practices for utility-scale ground mounted solar PV implemented in Mayreau, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
• @sdetweiler and @rroullet shared best practices for roofmount PV and the example of the Atlantic Stone project by FortisTCI.

Rachell Roullet

Vice President of Innovation, Technology and Strategic Planning
FortisTCI
Tag: @rroullet

Christopher Straughn

Sustainable Energy Analyst
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
Tag: @cstraughn;

Sanya Detweiler

Associate Director of the Islands Energy Program
Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI)
@sdetweiler

Fidel Neverson

Senior Project Manager
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) 1
Tag: @fneverson

This episode explores the processes and considerations to establish community-based models for distributed energy resources in Barbados. Our panelists shared their insights into the regulatory process and the rationale behind incentivizing Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), the challenges faced in establishing community-based models, the potential opportunities to create equity in the energy market, and innovations that citizens and the business community may access.

Panelists

Dr. Marsha Atherley-Ikechi
Director of Utility Regulation
Barbados Fair Trading Commission (FTC)

Lt.Col Trevor Browne
President
Barbados Sustainable Energy Cooperative Society Ltd
Chairman of the Board
Barbados National Standards Institute (BNSI)

Mr. Rohan Ford
Business Development Manager
Cloud Solar
Tag: @RFord

Given the global drivers of decarbonization, decentralization and digitization African utilities are currently in a phase of evolution, grappling with how to harness demand-side forces, how to align their incentives with those of the consumer, how to incorporate and partner with new technology providers, and how to upskill the workforce. Regulators, policy-makers and the private sector are all engaged in the dialogue on the future of power service provision across the continent. This discussion will explore the current trends in the East African utility sector and draw on parallels to the Caribbean. The discussion will explore lessons for the Caribbean, challenges for utility evolution, and the opportunities for inter-regional collaboration.

Panelist:

Dr. Rebekah Shirley
DIrector of Research, Data & Innovation
World Resources Institute (WRI) Africa
Twitter: @RebekahGShirley
Website: rgshirley.com 1
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Rebekah Shirley is the Director of Research, Data & Innovation at the World Resources Institute, Africa, and former Chief of Research at Power for All. Rebekah earned her PhD in Energy Resources from the University of California, Berkeley, and leads applied research on power systems and clean energy integration, working across Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Hailing from the West Indies, with roots in Jamaica and Trinidad, Rebekah now lives in Nairobi, Kenya.

Please share your questions and comments with Dr. Shirley!

On the November 16th 2020, Hurricane Iota hit the Colombian Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. The system left considerable damage to the Caribbean island of San Andres and their people, and destroyed approximately 90% of Providencia’s infrastructure. Episode 3 of the CAREC Resilient Power Webinar Series explores some of the lessons learned from the Energy Company of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina (EEDAS). The panel discusses not only the lessons learned since the disaster but the plans for creating more resilient infrastructure for the island territories. Building Climate Resilience Now for a Brighter Future – The Story of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina

Panelists

This webinar hosted on November 3rd 2021 titled – Design and Structural Considerations for Climate Resilient Building Infrastructure explored how utilities can work with designers and engineers to adapt Caribbean infrastructure to changing climatic conditions.Panelist discussed the best practices in the assessment of residential and commercial buildings for solar Photovoltaics and hurricane shelter design. In addition, panelists shared into Building Information Modelling tools found in the industry.

Panelists:

Ms. Alyssa-Amor Gibbons (LEED AP BD+C)
Architectural Designer
Studio Amor
tag: @Alyssa-Amor

Mr. Greg Parris
Director
Consulting Engineers Partnership Ltd 1`

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