From Site Selection magazine, July 2009

C onstruction of the largest solar cell energy plant of its type is set to begin in the Dominican Republic next year, giving the island a prominent position in the Caribbean in terms of renewable energy.       Sunovia Energy Technologies, a Sarasota, Fla.-based developer of ultra-efficient concentrated photovoltaic systems, is building a US$200-million solar plant for the Dominican Republic's energy department. Sunovia signed an agreement with the Dominican Republic in late 2008 to develop a 110-MW facility to supply the Parque Cibernetico Santo Domingo with its power requirements. The PCSD is a high-tech business park with a free trade zone designation whose tenants include several U.S.-based outsourcing firms such as Stream.       Sunovia is currently negotiating a final agreement with the PCSD to purchase the power from the plant, says Craig Hall, Sunovia's director of investor relations. He says plans call for construction to begin in 2010 with completion in 2012.       "This will be our showcase facility," says Hall. "Since we signed the deal, we have attracted interest from multiple international companies. The interest has been more from outside the U.S. than at home. Our concentrated solar cells are ideal for the extreme sunlight environment in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is very progressive on multiple fronts. President Leonel Fernandez has moved the country forward on several fronts with his leadership."       Hall says the solar plant, which will be about one square mile (2.6 sq. km.) in size, will create a total of 2,500 jobs in the Dominican Republic and the U.S. A typical solar cell for a power panel has an efficiency of 10 to 20 percent, while Sunovia's solar cells will have 40-percent efficiency. The Dominican Republic facility will be the largest concentrated photovoltaic plant in the world, allowing power generation at a low cost, he says. Sunovia partners with Illinois-based EPIR Technologies in development of the solar cells. Positioning for Recovery       While the Caribbean is feeling the global recession, the region should position itself to benefit from the recovery, says Trevor Alleyne, the International Monetary Fund's division chief for the English-speaking Caribbean.       "The entire Caribbean obviously has not been able to escape the brunt of the global financial crisis," Alleyne says. "It is highly exposed to developments in the global economy. Those that are tourism-dependent have been hit. The decline in consumer activity in the U.S. and in Europe has resulted in a decline in demand for tourism services. It has been equally difficult for commodity producing nations such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname and Guyana."       Alleyne says a huge oversupply of aluminum, coupled with big declines in prices, has resulted in plant shutdowns, and has been an acute problem in Jamaica.       But investment did continue in 2008, at least in two Caribbean nations. A recent report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and The Caribbean, a regional commission of the United Nations, indicates the Caribbean actually experienced a spike in FDI during 2008 with a 42-percent increase. The ECLAC says this was due directly to investments in the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago.       Further hurting the region is the decline in remittances from migrant workers in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Alleyne says. The Inter-American Development Bank reports that remittances began declining in late 2008, and that trend is continuing in 2009. Alleyne says a number of countries in the Caribbean are dependent on this influx of funds.       "While all of the countries in the Caribbean have been hit quite harshly, to a large extent this is a cyclical phenomenon with an expected recovery," Alleyne says. "The Caribbean will also benefit from the upturn."

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