The signing ceremony took place during fifth session of the Assembly of SIDS DOCK, held on 28 September 2019, at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber, on the sidelines of the seventy-fourth (74th) UN General Assembly, at UN Headquarters, in New York City, United States (U.S.). The Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by H.E. Ronald J. Jumeau, Chair, Executive Council of SIDS DOCK and Laurent Schneider-Maunoury, Chief Executive Officer of Naval Energies. His Excellency Dr. The Right Honourable Keith C. Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada and President of the SIDS DOCK and Dr. Albert Binger Secretary-General of SIDS DOCK were also present.
As renewable energy is recognized to be major contributor for both climate change and sustainable economic development for SIDS, and critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda, SIDS DOCK and Naval Energies will collaborate to foster the development of OTEC Deep-Sea Conversion and floating wind projects in small islands countries, recognizing that the ocean is the largest renewable resource for SIDS.
Deep-Sea Conversion plants gather simultaneously the production of renewable and sustainable electricity through an OTEC system as well as air-conditioning, fresh water, aquaculture and industrial cooling. Offshore Floating Wind turbines are powered by nearshore wind to feed the islands’ grids with a reliable, sustainable and renewable new source of electricity for their renewable mix with no land pressure.
Through this partnership, both SIDS DOCK and Naval Energies will closely cooperate with regional organizations, the small island countries and the renewable energies stakeholders to promote the development of OTEC Deep-Sea Conversion and Floating Offshore Wind projects. Together, the partners will be advocating Marine Renewable Energies development, gathering experts and mobilizing resources to perform site studies and feasibilities studies in order to attract sponsors and investors to finance the development of project on a short-term basis, with the goal of helping the SIDS transition to a Blue Economy.
In his message to the Assembly, His Excellency Dr. The Right Honourable Keith C. Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada and President of the SIDS DOCK, commended Naval Energies for its confidence in the organization and the great potential ahead for both the SIDS and Naval Energies in terms of the development and deployment of OTEC. “As the designated country with lead responsibility for promoting the Blue Economy in the Caribbean region, Grenada takes its responsibility seriously, and has already begun planning for the first OTEC facility in SIDS, and we believe that Naval Energies is the partner that can assist us with meeting this goal, and we look forward to the partnership,’ he said.
Mr. Laurent Schneider-Maunoury, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Naval Energies, who travelled from France to attend the signing ceremony, said, “We are very pleased to sign this partnership with SIDS DOCK and look forward to a fruitful collaboration to develop marine renewable energies projects in small islands in the Caribbean, Pacific and Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The OTEC Deep-Sea Conversion onshore plants will highly contribute to supply islands with a unique combination of renewable electricity, air-conditioning, fresh water and aquaculture and will help address the energy-water-waste nexus. The generation of renewable electricity with floating offshore wind turbine shall also power the islands closed grid with a reliable new source of renewable energy with no land pressure. We would like to warmly thank SIDS DOCK for their trust and believe that our partnership will contribute to provide solutions to mitigate climate change and help the SIDS transition to low carbon economies”.
Press contact
Virginie Lemiere
Tel. +33(0) 6 76 65 87 69
vlemiere@naval-energies.com
Christine Neves Duncan
cduncan@sidsdock.org
secretariat@sidsdock.org
About Naval Energies
Naval Energies is a leader in marine renewable energies. Naval Energies develops renewable and decarbonised electricity generation systems and sub-systems based on two different sources of marine energy — offshore winds and the thermal potential of tropical seas. We are present throughout the product lifecycle and master the entire value chain: design, construction, installation and maintenance, both at sea and in coastal areas. All over the world, we contribute to the development of alternative, renewable and environmentally friendly energy produced by the most powerful source possible: the sea.