Photo credit: Markus Matzel / ullstein bild via Getty Images / Forbes.com Excerpt from forbes.com
A couple of weeks ago, Hurricane Melissa barreled through the Caribbean, knocking out power for tens of thousands and exposing the fragility of island energy systems. For countries like Curacao, the stakes are high: from 1970 to 2020, small island developing states (SIDS) lost $153 billion due to weather extremes, a figure that dwarfs their average GDP of $13.7 billion.
The event underscores a growing imperative—these nations must decarbonize while ensuring reliable power to withstand climate shocks. The solution may come in the form of a flexible microgrid model deployed in Curacao, which combines renewable energy with battery storage and engine-based power plants. The approach, led by Wärtsilä Energy, could serve as a blueprint for SIDS and other vulnerable regions worldwide.