THE Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) has appointed Dr. Gary Jackson as its Executive Director, the CARICOM Secretariat has announced.
Dr. Jackson, a national of Jamaica, holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, and MSc in Project Management, both from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He has undertaken studies in hydroelectric power and power flow modeling for distributed generation under a Fulbright Nexus Scholarship.

An Energy Consultant who has been involved in the Caribbean energy sector in varying capacities, Dr. Jackson is the founder and a director of emPowered Caribbean Communities (emPCC) and its research arm; Caribbean Energy Solution Research Institute. He is also founder of Electric Vehicles Limited, actively researching electrical mobility via his own electric car.

The CCREEE Executive Director previously held leadership roles at Wigton Windfarm Limited and the Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy, a Division of The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica. He was Executive Director of Caribbean Electric Utilities Services Corporation (CARILEC), and Lecturer on Integrating Alternative Energy at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Dr. Jackson is a Registered Engineer (PE) in Jamaica and an associate member of the Jamaica Institute of Engineers (JIE). Internationally, he is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and a Certified Energy Manager (CEM).

The appointment was made as CCREEE — which is based in Barbados — begins to position itself to advance the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency in CARICOM. The work of the CCREEE will be guided by an executive board and a technical committee. In addition to the executive director, the Board comprises representatives of the Governments of Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize and Dominica as contracting parties; the CARICOM Secretariat; International Development Partners, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO); SIDS DOCK; and the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

A Strategic Planning Meeting of the Executive Board was held 22-23 November, 2018, following the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Forum CSEF) VI in Placencia, Belize. At the planning meeting, the Board agreed to the vision: ‘Transforming the energy landscape into a climate resilient, sustainable and affordable sector; focused on improving the lives of our people’.

Back in April, the requisite number of ratifications were deposited with the CARICOM Secretariat to establish the centre’s legal identity and to operationalise it. When fully operational, the centre is expected to improve the quantity and quality of programmes and projects in sustainable energy within the Region. Energy plays a critical part in supporting the sustainable development of Caribbean countries and the action-oriented community institution will lead to improvements in sustainable energy production, delivery and use, through increased renewable energy applications and energy efficiency measures.

During the first operational phase, the strategic priorities of the centre are to: develop a knowledge hub aimed at enhancing capacity within the regional energy sector; allow for access to curated human resources and uses smart data that drives decision-making. The centre will work closely with the CARICOM Secretariat’s Energy Unit and will report to the Ministerial Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). It will provide the Energy Unit and other local and international partners with the required technical implementation and execution capacities.