Saint Lucia has been experiencing increasingly severe weather systems, largely because of climate change globally. These extreme weather events threaten LUCELEC’s critical infrastructure. LUCELEC understands that the St. Lucian grid is not currently built to resist the strongest of storms (Category 5 and above) and intends to update its grid construction standards and take actions to incrementally improve system resilience so that it is capable of withstanding Atlantic storms, which are expected t increase in severity and frequency due to climate change.

In preparation for these actions, LUCELEC engaged K&M Team to prepare a study that would address the following two major topics:

• Providing a means of measuring current grid resilience and setting annual resilience targets and
• Analyzing the electrical network infrastructure in St. Lucia using inspections, models, and other tools to identify a pipeline of projects to increase the resiliency of the transmission and distribution networks, generation assets, and LUCELEC’s solar farm.

Throughout the study, K&M will develop a reliability metric to track LUCELEC’s progress in improving system resilience. This will involve reviewing and analyzing system data, conducting interviews with LUCELEC’s senior staff, performing a site visit, and identifying a prioritized pipeline of climate resilience projects. The ultimate goal is to enable LUCELEC to develop a specific grid resilience improvement plan.

During the course of the study, K&M developed a reliability metric that would allow LUCELEC to measure their progress in improving system resilience, review and analyze the system data, conduct interviews with LUCELEC’s senior staff, perform a site visit, identify the pipeline of the climate resilience projects, and prioritize the projects to allow LUCELEL to develop a specific grid resilience improvement plan.

K&M has been contracted by Water en Energiebedrijf Aruba (WEB) for an assignment to assist in updating the Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and emissions forecast of a generation scenario where all thermals are converted to run-on gas from LNG and renewable energy sources fill at least 50% of the island’s electricity generation needs.

K&M will perform the following:

• Update and confirm scenario assumptions, including the size of wind and solar power plants; battery size and duration; investment costs; timelines for wind and solar projects; capacity factors for wind and solar projects; CAPEX and OPEX for new technologies (solar, wind, and battery; and fuel prices for HFO, LFO, and LNG
• Update WEB Generation and Financial models according to updated assumptions
  • Reflect any new information on other key assumptions driving the generation and financial model. For example, first gas timing, ELMAR demand, rooftop solar penetration, and others
  • Include more refined estimates of parasitic load and other internal electricity consumption that affects the net generation
  • Refine maintenance cost estimates based on actual running hours
  • include the Task 1 agreed-on scenarios and updated assumptions.
• Run models and analyze scenarios

In the face of climate change and growing electricity demand, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are challenged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring reliable, resilient, and environmentally sustainable electricity. In this context, and for those countries with available resources, geothermal energy is a valuable alternative that can provide clean, firm, and flexible power generation at a competitive cost, complementing other renewable intermittent sources. In LAC countries, there is an identified potential for geothermal generation of approximately 13.4GW, with some studies estimating a range between 11GW to 55GW. In this context, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is preparing a funding proposal to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to create a regional facility that will support geothermal energy development and its potential applications in LAC. The fund will target the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. The objective of this consultancy is to develop a theory of change for the GeoPlus Programme that will include a cost-benefit analysis and detailed quantification of mitigation, adaptation, and co-benefit outcomes of geothermal development in LAC. This will result in a report for publication on the merits of geothermal energy development. As part of this work, the team will also prepare the documentation required for the GCF funding proposal, including a feasibility and market study and economic and financial analysis.

K&M will advise the IDB on the following activities:

• Prepare the publication on the merits of geothermal energy development in LAC, including determining the cost-benefit analysis for the geothermal reference project
• Provide a high-level estimation of the mitigation, adaptation, and co-benefit outcomes of the GeoPlus Programme at the LAC regional level
• Prepare the GCF funding proposal, including the main document and annexes of the funding proposal

The IDB contracted K&M Advisors LLC (K&M) to conduct a country-level survey in Panama regarding employment creation in the energy sectors associated to the green transition.

The main objective of the assignment was to gather data on the number and types of jobs created in the energy sector, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, demand management, electromobility, hydrogen, installation of solar panels, and storage, including advisory and consulting firms in these sectors. The K&M team made comparisons of employment creation by types of employment between the different sectors. This analysis included topics such as gender, education, investment, employment, and other relevant variables on both companies and unions present in the country that are representative of the whole. Additionally, the team provided the IDB with a database, developed a methodological guidebook, and presented the findings to IDB staff.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is a champion of the Regional Strategic Action Plan for Governance and Building Climate Resilience in the Water Sector in the Caribbean (RSAP). In support of the implementation of the RSAP, the IDB and K&M have prepared a report for publication on water utilities in the Caribbean. This report will serve as reference document and a key guide for prioritizing improvements needed by water utilities of the Caribbean. This report includes:

• Benchmarking of water utilities in the Caribbean
• The benefits of implementing non-revenue water (NRW) reduction projects
• Identifying the level of resilience of water utilities in the Caribbean
• Assessing the impact of COVID on water utilities in the Caribbean.

Under this contract, the K&M team processed new data provided by water utilities in the Caribbean, ensuring that the report is reflective of the most current data available.

K&M’s scope of work included:

• Processing new data from utilities
• Updating the database for individual utilities and consolidating the database
• Produceing new charts and figures
• Updating accompanying text in report
• Proofeading report for publication

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), contracted K&M, GeothermEx, and POWER Engineers to assess new approaches and develop business models for medium/high-enthalpy geothermal energy for electricity, green hydrogen, and industrial application in Chile.

To accomplish this, the team will (i) formulate a conceptual model for an exploration risk-mitigation mechanism, suitable for promoting geothermal use in district heating, industrial applications, and/or electricity generation, (ii) develop a business model for medium/high enthalpy district heating/cooling systems, (iii) design of a contractual and market strategy for increasing the competitiveness of geothermal power generation, (iv) develop a business model for the production of green hydrogen using geothermal energy, (v) a business model for the application of geothermal heat into an energy intensive industrial activity.

Oserian Two Lakes Power’s (OLTP) geothermal power plant is an important part of Kenya’s renewable energy and climate change prevention strategy. OLTP engaged POWER Engineers for support in ensuring a total load of 8 MW can be provided to industrial clients at Oserian via a high-voltage interconnection to Kenya Power and Light Company’s (KPLC) 33 kV distribution grid located nearby to avoid short-term use of diesel generation while OLTP further develops its geothermal resources.

K&M was engaged by POWER Engineers on a project to support the development of a geothermal/solar hybrid industrial park in Naivasha, Kenya by providing an analysis of the requirements for interconnection of the industrial park to the national grid of Kenya to supply backup power. This project will provide technical assistance for the specification and design of a synchronized interconnection between the nearby 33kV KPLC line to the OTLP 11kV mini grid.

K&M’s scope of work includes:

• Assessing the commercial and economic viability of the KPLC interconnection and its impact on the cost of power to OTLP’s industrial clients
• Identifying the factors that influence the economics of the project and of combined power provision by both geothermal resources and the KPLC distribution grid
• Recommending an operating procedure for decision makers to choose between OTLP geothermal/solar and KPLC grid-provided power

As part of its scope of work, K&M will consider a range of technical options coupled with capital and operating expenditures (CAPEX, OPEX) to assess the economics of grid-supplied vs. geothermal-supplied electrical energy. K&M will incorporate factors such as KPLC time-of-use and bulk rate electricity tariffs, expected utilization characteristics of OTLP electrical load (timing, intensity, duration), and estimate investment and operational requirements to model and evaluate the project economics. K&M will identify factors that influence the economics of the project and evaluate their sensitivity and impact during fluctuations. Lastly, K&M will provide clear recommendations and operating procedures that identify when to use OTLP-provided geothermal power and when to use KPLC grid-provided power.

K&M will compare the two (2) options (OTLP or KPLC supplied energy) on the basis of the lowest cost per unit of electricity under standard assumptions and produce a Cost-Benefit Analysis for the project.

K&M was contracted to develop a business plan for a rooftop solar company in Jamaica. This business plan will provide accessible financing and savings on monthly electricity payments through leasing and hire purchase rooftop solar models to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

K&M was contracted by a development bank to provide a global market assessment on floating solar projects and the potential development of a pipeline of such projects. This market assessment will expand across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and Central Asia, but will primarily identify key markets in Africa and Asia. K&M will also suggest potential business models for the floating storage projects.

K&M was hired by one of the industry’s leading integrated waste technologies solutions provider in the region. The client’s 10 MW Waste to Energy pilot project innovation is a first of its kind in Kenya. The project is based on three specific forms of biomass: municipal solid waste, agricultural crop residues and livestock waste or manure. The WtE pilot which is also phase 1 of the project will be located in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi. This is a single line facility with a capacity of 300 tons per day, and a total of 100,000 tpa. For this pilot phase, the output will be biomethane and electricity. The expanded facility will have a capacity of 250,000 tpa and the outputs will be biomethane, ethanol and electricity. K&M Advisors will provide financial / commercial advisory services with the primary objectives of (i) raising the necessary funds to complete project development and (ii) successfully achieving project financial close for the pilot project.