~ Energy policy in final stages ~
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten inched one step closer to preparing to embark on its path to realise renewable energy recently when the Council of Ministers approved the road map for GridMarket and gave the green light for investors.
In August 2021, GridMarket, St. Maarten and Island Resilience Partnership (IRP) announced a public-private partnership dedicated to helping St. Maarten transition to clean, resilient and affordable energy generation. Parties inked a memorandum of understanding, where St. Maarten will work with GridMarket and IRP to identify, design, procure and install distributed energy assets and make corresponding infrastructure upgrades. The partnership was created to help the island rapidly reach its key energy goals by deploying an optimised mix of energy solutions for the lowest economic cost.
When asked about the country’s path to renewable energy during the Council of Ministers’ press briefing on Wednesday, Prime Minister (PM) Silveria Jacobs provided an update.
“Indeed, just recently, not last week, maybe the week before, the Council of Ministers approved the road map of GridMarket and gave the green light for the investors to be brought in,” she said. “GEBE is on board. There is a tripartite [among – Ed.] government, GridMarket and GEBE. The energy policy is in its final stages as well. That is also the same group that is working on it together with the Ministry of General Affairs, Department of [Interior and Kingdom Relations] BAK, to get that finalised and so, the strategy is there. It’s approved and now the financiers, which have been, let’s call it, lined up already, are on board and it’s just to bring it in so that we can get moving,” she noted.
According to Jacobs, the projection of the plan will take place at some point and government will ensure that that is publicised so that the public can see that there is work taking place to prepare for the transition to renewable energy.
“This is one of our goals in our National Development Vision. We have been working on it for several years actually. So, it’s good to know that not only are we talking about it, but we are actually working it out. So, hopefully the first phase is all solar and it’s a three-phase plan. I won’t go into the details here. I would really like to do a press conference that is dedicated to that with all the stakeholders in that meeting.”
She continued: “There has been great collaboration with the Ministry of TEATT [Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication] and [of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure] VROMI on this as well. All three ministers have to sign off for it to move forward. This has been done and so we are looking forward to the next phase and as soon as we are ready to present that to the public, this will be done. But GEBE is also playing a key role. Just recently in the discussions, actually, with the royal family, the discussions came up about the wind aspect that forms part of the longer vision. We have to take into consideration the feasibility, the longevity, and the sustainability of whatever we bring into our system.”
Having cruise ships plug in on St. Maarten is also part of the plan. “So, we are well on the way in terms of the vision we now have and the strategy and investors are next to come on so that we can move forward, as well as other streams of funding.”
In August 2021, government said that GridMarket will facilitate and procure a turnkey solution that will provide the national utility, NV GEBE, with a comprehensive grid optimisation plan and country-wide transition to renewable, resilient and distributed energy. Focal points from GridMarket, IRP, GEBE, VROMI, TEATT and the Ministry of General Affairs convened the first stakeholder meeting which is aggregating data and key information from the utility and government, while outlining goals and metrics to ensure success for St. Maarten.
Government had said at the time that the model being used in St. Maarten has been proven in other island nations, across commercial property portfolios, and for targeted, discrete regions around the world. Together with St. Maarten government officials and the local utility, GridMarket’s innovative assessment tool will identify the optimal mix of technologies from the broader market to meet St. Maarten’s unique needs. The platform is technology- and vendor-agnostic, making it a trusted tool for running the government’s procurement process and navigating energy decisions to secure the most valuable, cost-effective options. Most island nations have received and reviewed individual renewable energy proposals, but the GridMarket difference lies in the holistic approach, next-generation digital capabilities and collective dedication to success, government had said at the time.
