Castries, Saint Lucia, July 5, 2022, CARILEC and RMI have joined forces to expand the opportunity for Caribbean utilities to participate in the second Global Fellowship Program designed to empower clean energy leaders and interested utility personnel.
Beginning in September/October 2022, the next cohort of fellows will engage in a five-month fellowship program focused on solar-plus-battery-storage microgrid development. Fellows will have the opportunity to learn first-hand from other utilities and experts in the field, sharing best practices and lessons learned in project development and management.
The Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) is an association that advocates for the continued transition to renewable energy sources in the Caribbean. CARILEC serves as the regional hub for electric energy solutions and is central in coordinating clean energy entities and convening regional and international partnerships. RMI, formerly Rocky Mountain Institute, has been working to build resilience and strengthen local energy systems throughout the Caribbean. ETA and the Global Fellowship Program were developed in close coordination with RMI’s partner utilities, project portfolio partners, and regional subject matter experts to support fellow CARILEC members
Like ETA, whose mission is to connect, amplify and empower the energy transition workforce of today and tomorrow, CARILEC aims to facilitate capacity building, learning and development, and knowledge and expertise sharing among its members.
“It is a unique opportunity for electric utilities to gain hands-on project and peer-to-peer learning experience in renewable energy,” says Leroy A.E. Abraham, chairman of CARILEC, and general manager/CEO of the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation. “British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation saw the value of participating in the inaugural program and appreciates the wealth of knowledge gained and professional development received through the program to advance distributed energy resources and grid resilience for the utility.”
“As an Associate Member of CARILEC, RMI aims to support CARILEC and its members to advance clean energy. We are pleased to partner with CARILEC to expand the Global Fellowship Program to all CARILEC member utilities throughout the Caribbean that are actively developing renewable energy projects,” says Amber Zirnhelt, a Manager with RMI’s ETA. “CARILEC is at the forefront of connecting Caribbean utilities with resources and solutions to advance renewable energy, which makes them an ideal partner.”
The fellowship program provides online technical training and site visits while facilitating the development of a community of practice among utility energy practitioners.
“While the fellows are taking away lessons learned and best practices from different stages of a project’s life, they are walking away with something else significant and of critical value for practitioners, a community. Creating these connections between one another is pivotal toward accelerating the energy transition. It means a lot to have this community,” said Marquis McGregor of Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority, a 2022 fellow, with the inaugural Global Fellowship Program, which was initially focused on three countries in the Caribbean. Participating utilities in the inaugural Global Fellowship Program included Bahamas Power & Light Company, Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, and the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation.
The Global Fellowship Program consists of scheduled virtual trainings, followed by an in-person Fellows Summit and site visits to distributed energy resource projects within RMI’s portfolio of partners. This year the focus will be on solar and battery microgrids. The Fellowship Program is co-designed with input from participating utilities to ensure that the training meets their needs to advance their renewable energy projects. Technical sessions cover topics ranging from project development to de-risking, grid-interconnection, procurement project management, battery storage and more.
Applications are now open until July 15, 2022, for the next Global Fellowship Program offering for energy practitioners from utilities in the Caribbean and Nigeria. Utilities must be actively advancing clean energy projects. If you are interested in supporting the program or applying to be a fellow, visit rmi.org/eta. ###
For all inquiries please contact:
Karen C. Piper, CARILEC
T: +1 (758) 728 9212
Maxine Chikumbo, RMI
T: +1 (347) 241 9215
About CARILEC :
The Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation (CARILEC) is an association of energy solution providers and other stakeholders operating in the electricity industry in the Caribbean. CARILEC was established in 1989 with nine (9) members as part of an electric Utilities modernization project funded by USAID and implemented by NRECA under a five-year “Co-operative Agreement.” Currently, CARILEC comprises over one hundred members. This includes thirty-three (33) Full Members that are electric Utilities, and over eighty (80) Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Associate and Affiliate Members that are companies involved in some aspect of servicing the electric Utility business.
About RMI:
RMI is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.
More information on RMI can be found at www.rmi.org or follow us on Twitter @RMI_Islands.
