In the Dominican Republic, a considerable amount of electric power is currently produced by thermal generators fuelled by coal and oil. In recent years, wind and photovoltaic (PV) installations have soared, accounting for approximately 6 % of total annual energy generation in 2018.

With an impetus to achieve national targets and reduce emissions, and motivated by the economic advantages of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) resources, which have proven increasingly cost effective over the years, the Government of the Dominican Republic has planned a large-scale transition to renewable energy production over the course of the next few years.

The power system of the Dominican Republic, which operates synchronously independent, requires special attention be paid to the technical requirements for the installation of generators, specifically VRE generators. In Ireland for example, an island system of comparable size, strict technical requirements for generators have been a major factor in enabling safe, secure and efficient operation at very high VRE shares.

In June 2020, Energynautics was commissioned by GET.transform to assist the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) funded Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean (TAPSEC). The programme is implemented by GIZ in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mines in the Dominican Republic.

Currently, TAPSEC is reviewing the current applicable grid code documents in advance of developing recommendations for the upcoming system transformation. Energynautics’ experts have thus far conducted a gap analysis of the current regulation and drafted a revised grid code, which will be reviewed by the regulatory institution for power generation in the Dominican Republic.

In summer and autumn of 2020, Energynautics also led a number of online workshops to discuss the necessary grid code requirements with participants from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the regulator (SIE), the Coordinating Body in charge of market operations and generation planning (OC), the TSO Dominican Electricity Transmission Company (ETED) and representatives of ETED’s Energy Control Center (CCE).

The project is expected to be finalised by mid-2021.