
Dominican Republic strengthens commitment
to renewable energy
Jan 30, 2009 - energycentral.com
The Dominican government has further
demonstrated its commitment to sustainable development
by signing an agreement with U.S. firm Sunovia Energy
Technologies for the installation of the country’s
first solar energy plant.
The contract, signed within the scope
of a Dominican law providing incentives for foreign
investment, will involve an investment of roughly
$200 million and provide jobs to some 2,500 workers.
“President (Leonel) Fernandez and his
team have shown a tremendous passion for solving the
country’s energy difficulties; they’ve realized that
having a bilateral focus, including the responsible
production of renewable energy, (and adopting) practices
that conserve energy are critical steps that must
be taken if the country is to achieve energy independence
in the long term,” Sunovia Energy Technologies CEO
Carl Smith said.
For his part, Eddy Martinez, secretary
of state and executive director of the Dominican Republic’s
Export and Investment Center, said the agreement “is
the result of the intense work we’ve carried out for
years, in keeping with the worldwide trend of reducing
dependence on crude and, at the same time, creating
new jobs and attracting new investment to the (country).”
The contract signed with Sunovia Energy
Technologies is part of a wave of new investment in
renewable energy in the Dominican Republic that also
involves other U.S. companies such as Masada Resource
Group, STC Engineering and Burbano Recycling, which
have set up electricity and bio-fuels plants.
Martinez said, meanwhile, that his country
not only wants to attract investors in renewable energy,
but also to expand investment in the stem-cell research
and genetically modified foods sectors and in the
development of hybrid vehicles.
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