Robert Thomas
The United States pledged to support the Dominican Republic in the energy transition to eliminate its dependence on imported fossil fuels and increase the generation of clean energy with the organization of the event “Innovative Financing Mechanisms for Renewable Energy, held yesterday at the Ambassador Hotel.
The event was organized by the United States government through its Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism and the Ministries of Environment and Natural Resources and Energy and Mines, as part of the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2022.
Robert Thomas, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in the country, said that now is the time to come together to generate ideas and partnerships to develop resilient and sustainable solutions to address this energy crisis.
“And what better way to do that than to invest in efforts to decrease fuel dependence and reduce emissions that contribute to climate change?” he asked.
He recognized the critical role the U.S. government can play in convening governments and private sector investors to coordinate the transition to renewable energy.
For his part, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Antonio Almonte, pointed out that the energy transition process takes time, but that above all, they are processes that require a lot of money, so in the DR, for renewable energy projects to be realized, innovative mechanisms must be thought of to facilitate financing for private investors who want to invest in the country.
“This in order to be able to undertake all the actions that could sneak the country into conditions that would give an outlet for this energy revolution,” he said.
He added, furthermore, that public hearings will be opened to learn about the proposed modification of the regulations for the application of the Renewable Incentives Law to, among other things, introduce the figure of bidding for access to contracts for the purchase and sale of energy.
The minister also emphasized that the country must depend less on fossil fuels and recalled that in 2022, contracts had been signed for photovoltaic projects totaling more than 620 megawatts, many of which have already begun to be built. Others will start operating in a short time.