Saint Lucia: The Land, the People, the Light

Saint Lucia is transitioning its energy system to increase resilience and reduce diesel dependency, highlighted by a 4MW utility-scale solar farm completed in 2018 that saved $3 million and 1.5 million gallons of diesel in three years. The island aims for 35% renewable electricity by 2025 and a 23% reduction in climate pollution by 2050. Current efforts include planning eight solar microgrids for critical facilities (schools, hospitals, and government buildings) and utilizing catalytic philanthropic funding to unlock private investment.

• Saint Lucia completed its first utility-scale solar farm in August 2018, located north of Hewanorra International Airport. The 4 megawatt system, developed by St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) with RMI support, produced 24.7 million kWh of electricity in its first three years. This output was sufficient to power 3,500 homes and resulted in savings of over $3 million and 1.5 million gallons of diesel.
• The island has established specific climate and energy targets, including a goal to reduce climate pollution by 23 percent by 2050 and a target for renewable energy to supply 35 percent of its electricity by 2025.
• RMI is working to develop eight solar microgrids in Saint Lucia to provide resilience for critical infrastructure during disasters. These microgrids are intended to power a hospital, a polyclinic, a police station, a water treatment facility, the Ministry of Infrastructure building, and three schools (infant, primary, and secondary).
• The utility-scale solar project demonstrated the effectiveness of using philanthropic funds to attract private investment, achieving a leverage ratio where every dollar of philanthropic funding unlocked $17 in private investment.
• Saint Lucia's energy transition efforts have served as a model for other jurisdictions in the region, including Belize, Turks and Caicos, the British Virgin Islands, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

APA

RMI (2024). Saint Lucia: The Land, the People, the Light. https://rmi.org/resources/saint-lucia-the-land-the-people-the-light/

Chicago

RMI. Saint Lucia: The Land, the People, the Light. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/saint-lucia-the-land-the-people-the-light/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Saint Lucia: The Land, the People, the Light |date=28 August 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/saint-lucia-the-land-the-people-the-light/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024saint, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Saint Lucia: The Land, the People, the Light}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/saint-lucia-the-land-the-people-the-light/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }