Above: the University of the West Indies St Augustine

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Trinidad and Tobago and the United States will jointly establish a Renewable Energy Research Centre at the University of the West Indies St Augustine campus, the two countries announced Tuesday.

The centre is the product of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both countries on Tuesday.

“The intention of this centre would be to promote the rapid deployment of critical technologies for renewable energy in the Caribbean,” Trinidad’s government said in a statement.

The agreement will facilitate “energy efficiency and clean energy technologies through the exchange of ideas and information in accordance with the respective national priorities and socio-economic development goals and strategies,” Trinidad said.

The government said the agreement could Trinidad with “targeted and effective research and development programmes, which can spur local green technology innovation and ultimately support the development of a resilient local green energy technology industry.”

The US and Trinidad first expressed the desire to partner on green energy during a meeting with the US Secretary of Energy in 2009.