June 29, 2016, CASTRIES: This morning, the Caribbean Electricity Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) launched a renewable energy virtual community for utility engineers and energy practitioners called the CARILEC Renewable Energy Community (CAREC).
The community features informative documents and training materials, monthly technical webinars and a real-time discussion board. The online platform enables members to connect with peers, learn from each other and resolve renewable energy challenges in an environment of collaboration. Global and regional energy experts will host monthly webinar series and contribute to CAREC discussions on a regular basis.
“I am thrilled to see CAREC being launched today. We know that this online community is an excellent resource not only for CARILEC members but also for regional energy professionals. We encourage energy stakeholders to use this platform and promote discourse in many energy issues, as we believe that online collaboration is a great way to help increase general knowledge and capacity in our collective move towards sustainable energy practices,” said Mr. Thomas Hodge, Executive Director of CARILEC.
The need for a regional community for island energy professionals to exchange knowledge was a key theme at the 2015 Aruba Learning Event. Since then, a team from CARILEC, the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), Rocky Mountain Institute and Carbon War Room (RMI-CWR) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have supported CAREC implementation efforts. CAREC will be co-managed by the current CARILEC training manager, Lauren Primus and a project manager from CCI, Martyn Forde.
To request CAREC membership access visit the CARILEC website or type community.carilec.org into your browser. Funding for CAREC was made possible by a generous grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of Norway.
For press, contact: amathurin@carilec.org or media@rmi.org
To learn more about the Community, contact: slprimus@carilec.org
