Renewable energy in the Caribbean on agenda at meeting of Clinton Global Inititative in NY

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar greets St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonzalves at the Clinton Global initiative Annual Meeting in New York Thursday morning. At left is Michael Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary for Legal Affairs at the United Nations.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar discussed the Future of Renewable Energy in the Caribbean in New York Thursday when she addressed the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting. 

Speaking in her role as Chair of CARICOM, the Prime Minister highlighted the strides made in utilising renewable energy in Trinidad and Tobago and across the Caribbean. In particular, she touched on Trinidad and Tobago’s recent achievements in renewable energy which includes:

• A Regional renewable energy centre to be located in Trinidad and Tobago in partnership with the United States Department of Energy, as a result of discussions held during the State visit of US Vice President, Joe Biden, in May 2013
• Commencement of phase one of the assessment study for the deployment of a wind farm, for generation of up to 100 megawatts of power, on the east coast of Trinidad
• External photovoltaic lighting to community centres
• Photovoltaic-powered lighting for school libraries
• Renewable energy lighting for police surveillance bays along the highways, seafront boardwalks
• The on-going national communication campaign, “My Energy, My Responsibility” to educate and involve the public on ways to conserve energy and raise awareness about the benefits of renewable energy. This multimedia campaign, revolving around the website, www.myenergytt.com, won gold and silver at the recent Addy Awards hosted by the Caribbean Advertising Federation

Persad-Bissessar participated in a group discussion session to explore opportunities for partnership in deploying renewable energy solutions in the Caribbean region. At this session, participants from the corporate, social enterprise, non-governmental and public sectors came together to identify priority areas and opportunities for collaboration over the next 12 months with the goal of developing five to six new Commitments to Action.

The CGI membership comprises distinguished individuals from around the world including private sector CEOs, Heads of State, philanthropists and Nobel laureates, NGO leaders and prominent members of the media.