VZCZCXRO1786
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHBH #0623/01 2421407
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291407Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5699
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000623 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: B/A 
TAGS: ENRG ECON EINV ETRD BF
SUBJECT: CARIBBEAN ENERGY SEMINAR SPOTLIGHTS ISLAND INITIATIVES AND 
RENEWABLE OPTIONS 
 
REF: NASSAU 429 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY: Advancing U.S. energy diplomacy in the Caribbean, 
the USG partnered with the OAS and the GCOB to host a two day 
regional sustainable energy event July 23-24 in Nassau. The 
USG-funded, OAS-sponsored seminar brought Caribbean leaders together 
with energy experts from the OAS, CARICOM, and other multilateral 
institutions and lending organizations.  Embassy Nassau joined with 
the Departments of Energy and Commerce to sponsor a business 
roundtable July 24 on strengthening public-private partnerships to 
develop Caribbean renewable energy projects.  The roundtable 
spotlighted a new U.S.-New Zealand International Partnership for 
Energy Development in Island Nations, and the announcement of two 
new OAS grants as part of U.S.-Brazil cooperation on biofuels. 
High-level USG involvement demonstrated commitment not only to 
promoting renewable energy but also to helping regional partners 
address energy challenges.  The GCOB is beginning to think seriously 
about energy options, and Embassy Nassau is working to keep 
renewables on the front-burner.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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OAS SEMINAR:  NO CONSENSUS ON REGIONAL STRATEGY 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶2.  (U) The "Caribbean Regional Sustainable Energy High Level 
Seminar" July 23 brought government officials from Caribbean island 
nations together with energy experts from multilateral 
organizations, including the OAS and CARICOM, lending institutions, 
such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and academia. 
U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas Ned L. Siegel, Assistant Secretary 
General to the OAS Ambassador Albert Ramdin, and Bahamian Minister 
of Environment, Earl Deveaux acknowledged in their opening remarks 
the Caribbean's heavy dependence on fossil fuels, the dampening 
effect of the rising cost of oil and transport on regional 
economies, and the need for immediate energy efficiency coupled with 
environmental awareness.  All stressed the need for collaboration 
and cooperation to achieve progress in developing alternative energy 
sources in order to keep the region economically viable and 
competitive. 
 
¶3.  (U) Panelists from the OAS, CARICOM, IDB, and other multilateral 
and lending organizations addressed the implementation of the 
Caribbean Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Bioenergy Action 
Program (CREBAP), the financial challenges of sustainable energy 
development, and bridging the gap between recipient countries and 
donors.  Energy ministers and officials from a dozen Caribbean 
nations and territories directed questions to panelists regarding 
the specific challenges their countries face in the development of 
renewable energy, especially citing access to funding and the 
difficulty of crafting national policy in the context of regional 
cooperation.  Acknowledging the diverse renewable energy resources 
of the Caribbean, energy officials were divided on whether to apply 
a regional or national approach to implement renewable energy policy 
and whether power companies should be under government or private 
control. 
 
¶4.  (U) Regional participants included representatives of Antigua & 
Barbuda; The Bahamas; Barbados; Dominica; Dominican Republic; 
Guyana; St. Lucia; St. Kitts & Nevis; St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines; Suriname; and Trinidad and Tobago.  A planned 
declaration toward the implementation of the CREBAP was not 
adopted. 
 
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USG ROUNDTABLE:  PUSH FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
¶5.  (U) The "Business Roundtable: Opportunities in the Caribbean 
Renewable Energy Sector" July 24 facilitated dialogue between 
official and multilateral participants and private sector actors on 
developing and strengthening public-private partnerships as the 
preferred model of developing renewable energy sources.  The 
attendance of high-level USG speakers, including Under Secretary of 
State Paula Dobriansky, DOE Assistant Secretary Andy Karsner, 
Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle, and Overseas Private Investment 
Corporation president Robert Mosbacher, Jr., underscored USG 
commitment not only to promoting renewable energy but also to 
helping Caribbean partners address energy challenges. 
 
¶6.  (U) Under Secretary Dobriansky said in her remarks that 
development of renewable energy sources addressed the twin 
challenges of energy security and climate change.  Assistant 
Secretary Karsner described alternative energy development as a 
three-legged stool comprised of capital markets, technology, and 
policy regulation.  Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii forcefully 
outlined accomplishments in increasing energy independence and 
stressed the importance of island nations' eliminating energy 
distribution monopolies and partnering with the private sector.  Dan 
Arvizu, the director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 
underlined his mission of getting technology out of the lab and into 
the marketplace. 
 
¶7.  (U) Panels addressed effective policy mechanisms and 
public-private partnerships, how to identify and select 
 
NASSAU 00000623  002 OF 002 
 
 
technologies, and paths to commercialization.  Participants included 
operators of renewable energy facilities, financial institutions, 
and other private sector stakeholders with an interest in deploying 
renewable energy technologies in the region.  Discussions centered 
on how sources of funding for alternative energy projects could be 
more easily accessed, how to advance the deployment of renewable 
energy technologies, and identifying the right renewable energy 
option to match the specific circumstances and comparative 
advantages of individual Caribbean states.  Presentations from both 
days can be viewed at: 
http://krcem.fiu.edu/DOS/index_files/agenda.h tm 
 
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NEW DIRECTIONS 
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¶8.  (U) Two new initiatives were launched before the roundtable: 
 
-- DOE Assistant Secretary Karsner and New Zealand's Ambassador to 
the U.S., Roy Ferguson, signed terms of reference for the 
International Partnership for Energy Development in Island Nations 
(EDIN), an initiative to promote collaborative development of energy 
efficient and renewable energy technologies on island nations and 
territories, in order to improve global energy security and tackle 
global climate change. 
 
-- The Ambassadors of Brazil and the U.S. joined OAS Ambassador 
Ramdin to announce that the Dominican Republic and El Salvador won 
biofuels technical assistance grants from the OAS, representing a 
step toward implementation of U.S.-Brazil cooperation on biofuels. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9.  (U) In addition to promoting U.S. energy diplomacy in the 
region, the events further focused GCOB attention on the potential 
for renewables to alleviate the economic squeeze from high energy 
and food prices while capitalizing on the island chain's ample 
supplies of sun and wind.  At Prime Minster Ingraham's urging, 
Environment Minister Deveaux asked the Ambassador for full, detailed 
information on conference proceedings, which Post provided. 
Informally, Minister Deveaux indicated the GCOB's interest in 
exploring renewable options for increasing power generation capacity 
on Great Inagua, site of the Coast Guard/OPBAT base (reftel) as well 
as a unique nature preserve, albeit in the interest of future 
tourism and economic development.  These are indications that the 
GCOB is beginning to think seriously about ways out of fossil-fuel 
dependency. 
 
Siegel