The Board of the Anguilla Electricity Company (ANGLEC) is currently pursuing efforts to acquire a loan of some US$20 Million from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) earmarked for the development of renewable energy in Anguilla.
In the month of July, a seven member team from CDB was on island and began to carry out due diligence on the electricity company, which a critical responsibility on the part of the Bank for the application of the loan.
Currently, the Bank is in the third stage of the due diligence process, and the ANGLEC Board is hoping that the fourth and final stage would be completed shortly in order for the application to reach that Board of Governors Meeting in time for September or October at the latest.
The Chairman of the Board, Mr. David Carty, has announced that they have raised the tier, in the first instance, from the original plan of 8 megawatts to 12 megawatts of renewable electricity. He said the CDB has bought in to Anguilla’s vision, and because of the island’s smallness and interconnectivity, the Bank believes that Anguilla can be a model for renewable energy development and transition.
Mr. Carty was a guest on “Talk Anguilla” aired on Radio Anguilla with host Keith “Stone” Greaves on Wednesday, August 27th.
“Renewable energy is now one of the priorities of the Bank across the region,” he stated. “They just financed a huge renewable energy farm in Suriname and they hope that Anguilla can be a model for the rest of the Caribbean.
“We in Anguilla have envisaged a four-phase plan for renewable energy transition, and this is only the first phase that we are currently applying for. As long as we accomplish all of the four phases over time, Anguilla will be free of fossil fuel. And this will be great for the Bank,” Mr. Carty said.
With ANGLEC being ultimately free of the cost of purchasing fossil fuel, the cost of electricity would be expected to significantly reduce.
