by Brianna Crandall — December 17, 2014—At the inaugural Renewable Energy Latin American and Caribbean Conference and Exhibition (RELACCX), hosted by the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE), industry leaders from the United States and countries across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) convened to discuss financing and deployment trends for renewable energy in the region. Experts representing private sector business, governments and non-governmental organizations provided insights to over 200 delegates on matters surrounding technology and financing progressions uniquely related to the energy challenges and opportunities facing the LAC regions.
To open the event, ACORE released its 2014 Regional Profiles: Renewable Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean report, which offers key market insights about Latin America and the Caribbean through a number of case studies and assessments on renewable energy in countries throughout the region. The included case studies from leading private sector companies and organizations review the state of play in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Current energy issues in the region include high electricity prices, outdated or burgeoning infrastructure, and water and energy access concerns.
Unique LAC properties
The unique properties of the Latin American and Caribbean markets provided a stimulating platform for discussion at RELACCX, says ACORE. From identifying technological developments driving renewable energy forward, the infrastructure required to support renewable energy growth, and the financing needed to make this happen, to advancing the research, development and commercialization of emerging technologies in the public and private sectors, participants were reportedly eager to review new opportunities to raise venture capital to develop technologies and innovative markets. Emergent technologies such as the application of smart grid, microgrid and energy storage have markedly different value propositions in many of the LAC regions, versus the United States or Europe, notes ACORE.
Long-standing LAC challenges
Much of the discussion at RELACCX reflected the long-standing challenges of the LAC nations — from reliable energy to high costs of imported fossil fuels — and how renewables are presently offering entirely new solutions to old problems. Nicaragua was cited as a textbook example of how energy reform ended decades of rolling blackouts and electricity rationing, in favor of a modern grid that is now powered by 51 percent renewable energy. Private sector financiers and developers focused in on risk mitigation for the region, agreeing that doing international projects often meant showing preference for larger, more easily financed projects, but also recognizing that unique and emerging role of export credit agencies in the region offered profitable undertaking of smaller deals as well.
Additionally, a survey of the renewable energy industry leaders from 19 countries at the conference, conducted by the InterAmerican Clean Energy Institute, highlighted key policy issues in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Of the conference delegates who responded to the survey, 87% thought that the Latin American and Caribbean region could achieve 60% or more sustainable renewable electricity by 2050, and nearly half of respondents thought that 80% or more was achievable.
“Clean energy is growing rapidly in the Latin American and Caribbean region, and in many areas renewables are already cost-competitive with—or cheaper than—traditional energy sources,” said Heather Rosmarin, Executive Director of the InterAmerican Clean Energy Institute, a nonprofit clean energy think tank, which conducted the survey. “However, public policy remains key to removing obstacles and optimizing clean energy market development,” Rosmarin said.
