Above: Jamaica’s Wigton wind farm

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Inter-American Development bank has approved a $30 million loan to boost renewable energies and clean technologies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“This financing is part of the IDB’s commitment to develop mechanisms to support long-term funding of renewable energy and clean technology projects in the region, which stimulate innovation, job creation and green economic growth,” said Daniela Carrera-Marquis, head of the Financial Markets Division at the IDB’s Structured and Corporate Finance Department.

The fund, which will be managed by US-based Emerging Energy and Environment, will invest in renewable energy projects including wind, solar, small hydropower and geothermal.

The eventual size of the fund, dubbed Emerging Energy Latin America Fund II, is targeted at around $150 million.

Energy demand in Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to grow by 75 percent by 2030, and renewable energy could account for half of that total demand, according to project team leader Andres Ackermann.