Arlington, VA – The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a technical assistance grant to the Dominican Republic’s Superintendent of Electricity (SIE) that will facilitate the growth of renewable power generation in the country. USTDA’s grant will help create enabling regulations for battery energy storage systems to maintain the stability of the country’s power grid as new wind and solar power plants are built. USTDA and SIE announced their collaboration during the COP26 summit.
“Across the Caribbean, USTDA is supporting the development of climate-smart infrastructure solutions to strengthen the region’s resilience to climate change,” said Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally (ret.), USTDA’s Acting Director. “Our partnership with the Dominican Republic will allow them to craft regulations that facilitate the reliability of their power infrastructure, while opening the country to renewable energy solutions that U.S. companies are prepared to supply.”
USTDA’s technical assistance will include a market analysis of the demand for battery energy storage systems technologies, a review of existing regulations and an in-depth gap analysis. Through this analysis, new technical and financial regulations will be recommended to support the deployment of battery energy storage systems throughout the Dominican Republic’s power system.
“This technical assistance, which will enable the implementation of energy storage technology in the country, will help address the regulatory gaps present in current regulations and will provide the necessary recommendations for technical and financial regulations,” said Superintendent of Electricity Rafael Velazco. “As a result, this intelligent method of energy storage and management will enable more productive electricity, better grid management, and greater stability and availability of service.”
This activity supports the Biden Administration’s Small and Less Populous Island Economies Initiative, an economic cooperation framework designed to strengthen U.S. collaboration with island countries and territories in the Caribbean, North Atlantic and Pacific regions. It also supports USTDA’s Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure, which connects U.S. industry to major clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects in emerging markets.
U.S. businesses interested in submitting proposals for the USTDA-funded technical assistance should visit www.ustda.gov/work/bid-on-an-overseas-project.
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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
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