The Caribbean Climate Smart Facility

The Need

More than 44 million people in the Caribbean still depend on fossil-based electricity systems. Few clean energy projects attract investment in the Caribbean despite the strong commercial case for them. Research shows that project developers are reluctant to bring projects to market if investible capital is not readily available. At the same time, development banks and other potential finance providers are looking for “shovel-ready” projects that are substantially de-risked. This is especially true for small projects, which require as much effort to prepare and underwrite as large projects. Without robust project preparation and a dedicated pool of funding with the appropriate risk tolerance willing to lead project financing, projects stall or face unsustainable capital costs to compensate for perceived risks. This creates a gap between the projects ready to come to market and investors willing to invest in them.

The CCSF aims to swiftly and equitably transform the Caribbean energy sector from fossil-fueled, vulnerable, centralized, and imported to renewable, resilient, distributed, and local energy.

The Opportunity

The Caribbean Climate Smart Facility (CCSF) is designed to address bankability gaps and catalyze the transition to a fully commercial clean-energy market in the Caribbean, including overseas territories.

The CCSF ensures that clean energy projects mature rapidly, address the market failure points, and are well-positioned to leverage capital from the private sector and international public financing institutions. Without dedicated resources for completing pre-feasibility and feasibility activities, essential to reach bankability, many energy projects in the Caribbean region fail in the preparation phase. The CCSF builds on RMI’s decade-long presence and unique advantage in the Caribbean region, focusing on addressing this challenge and ensuring that projects are ready to be built.

How It Works

The CCSF ensures energy projects are technically sound, regulation-compliant, and financially viable. It builds on RMI’s decade-long presence in the Caribbean and, with a team of experienced project engineers and developers, offers a suite of technical assistance services.

These include:

Services offered by the CCSF significantly reduce risk to the developers or contractors and provide a long-term value for Caribbean utilities, governments, and/or commercial off-takers. Successful projects create momentum, build trust, and ultimately lower the financial — and sometimes political — risk of the sector and the country’s risk profile.

While RMI focuses on the preparation of specific Caribbean energy projects and creates enabling environments for project preparation to unlock investment, there is opportunity to further accelerate the sector’s transition through regional collaboration and knowledge sharing. Sharing experiences, resources, and training enables professionals to reduce the uncertainty and, eventually, the cost of a clean regional energy transition. The CCSF also helps to build public awareness on the Caribbean energy transition through public consultations, key stakeholder engagement, and awareness campaigns.

Contact us

• Ije Okeke, Managing Director, Global South – iokeke@rmi.org
• Laetitia De Marez, Senior Director, Islands Energy Program – ldemarez@rmi.org
• David Gumbs, Director, Islands Energy Program – dgumbs@rmi.org