Central America: Multi-national power supply planning with renewable energy emphasis

I am advising utility regulators in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama on ways to use regional integrated resource planning to achieve cost-effective mixes of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Central America.  The U.S. State Department is funding this effort with $1.2 million in grants to the Institute of the Americas (IOA).

Together with my colleague Jeremy Martin, Energy Program Director at IOA, I will be (a) developing within each national regulatory structure an understanding of the benefits available from regional planning; (b) encouraging regional institutions to understand each nation's unique needs and preferences; (c) assisting each nation's regulatory agency in creating the expertise, staffing, regulations, and procedures necessary to harmonize national policies without impinging on national autonomy; and (d) creating an informed, communicative network of decision-makers and stakeholders aimed at using a combination of markets and regulation to reduce the region's need for fossil fuels.