Philipsburg, Sint Maarten – In keeping with government’s strategic initiative to have Sint Maarten transition to clean, resilient, and affordable energy generation, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs met with representative of GridMarket on Tuesday, October 19, to discuss the first phase of approach where this project is concerned. This project is in collaboration with Island Resilience Partnership (IRP), the Ministries of General Affairs, VROMI, TEATT and Finance, as well as utility company NV GEBE. GridMarket is currentlyaggregating data and key information from government’s GIS system in order to put forth options for more sustainable energy for the people of Sint Maarten.
Prime Minister Jacobs stated, “Several large areas have already been identified for this project and the recommendation is to have the production spread throughout the island. This will reduce the risk of having energy produced at one location such as the GEBE plant in Cay Bay. Sint Maarten is almost entirely dependent on imported oil, as such, it is imperative that we continue our commitment towards diversifying the market with options for renewable energy and a resilient infrastructure as outlined by SDG 7 – affordable and clean energy. By March 2022, we would be able to give a more clear indication as to what is possible for St. Maarten in order to provide more sustainable energy.”
This transformation will align with the Build-Back-Better principle, allowing Sint Maarten to be resilient in the face of future natural disasters and accelerate its long-term climate mitigation and adaptation goals. All phases of this initiative, including final project bidding and vendor selection, will flow through the GridMarket platform.
