The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved, in principle, a loan to the Anguilla Electricity Company (ANGLEC) for a new solar energy farm.
The agreement was confirmed in a phone call from the president of the CDB to utilities minister Jose Vanterpool on 14 January.
“This marks a major milestone for ANGLEC as they continue along their journey towards the renewable energy transition,” he said in a press conference on 26 January.
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“It also proves that ANGLEC has demonstrated their ability… to finance the loan without having to rely on contingencies from government or approval from the United Kingdom.”
The renewable energy facility will be built on a site in Corito following government approval of lease of Crown land in September last year.
In a press conference on 9 February, Vanterpool explained that the two parties have 60 days to negotiate terms and exchange necessary documentation.
“It’s kind of a negotiation phase between ANGLEC and the CDB to just make sure all eyes are dotted, all Ts are crossed, and both parties are in agreement to the specifics of the loan,” he said.
“But the loan, in principle, has been approved, and the moment that both parties come to that agreement and sign on the dotted line, then they move forward.”
He said he has instructed the the chair of the board to ensure it is done as quickly, but as responsibly, as possible to not delay Anguilla’s transition to renewable energy.
ANGLEC chair David Carty discussed the progress of the proposed loan agreement with the CDB during an interview on Radio Anguilla last August.
He said the loan would be “somewhere in the region of” US$20 million, but added that it would be dependent what size farm is approved – which could range from eight megawatts up to 12 MW.
At the time, Carty said that ANGLEC had considered other financial institutions but faced challenges due to Anguilla’s status as a UK overseas territory.
Details of the approved loan’s value have not yet been released.
