sea water air conditioning in the caribbean

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SEA WATER AIR

CONDITIONING

IN THE CARIBBEAN

Workshop

March 6, 2017

Caribbean Development Bank

Conference Centre

Wildey, St. Michael, Barbados

MembershipEvolution

1990 2000 2011

• Bolivia

• Colombia

• Ecuador

• Perú

• Venezuela

• Argentina

• Barbados

• Bolivia

• Brasil

• Colombia

• Ecuador

• Panamá

• Paraguay

• Perú

• Trinidad y Tobago

• Uruguay

• Venezuela

• Chile

• Costa Rica

• Jamaica

• México

• Rep. Dominicana

• España

• Portugal

5 countries 16 countries 19 Counries

20151970-

1990

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Background and Justification for Establishing a Regional District Cooling Program (including SWAC)

Over the last two decades, Caribbean Island States and multilateral

development agencies have been evaluating alternatives to lower the

costs of energy and CO2 emissions in the Caribbean;

One characteristic of such an effort has been energy integration

projects pursuing economies of scale;

The main projects considered have been electric power

interconnection and gas pipeline projects among islands and

geothermal projects;

However, due to many challenges, these energy integration projects

have been difficult to implement.

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Some background

Why Are We Here Today?

The energy demand for air conditioning in Caribbean countries is quite

extensive due to the hot climate. Among the reasons for the large electricity

consumption in Caribbean countries, especially in coastal cities, are the

presence of many resorts and tertiary buildings with air conditioned installations

using electricity.

Air conditioning (cooling) in the Caribbean countries is provided by

conventional cooling systems (CCSs) that use electric power to chill water

which is distributed throughout buildings to pick up heat and transfer it to the

outside air. The conventional A/C system consumes around 35-60% of the total

electrical power used in such buildings.

Considering that the average price of electricity in many of the Caribbean Island

States is over US $0.30 per kWh, the energy bills are quite high, especially for

the hotel sector.

The Caribbean island economies are very dependent on fossil energy

sources. In some islands energy needs are covered above 90% by imported

fossil fuels. Sudden surges in the oil price result in significant economic

damages.

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Source: IMF Country Report No. 16/279

In order to contribute to revert the situation, in

2013 CAF developed a strategy based on energy

and energy efficiency projects that would not

depend on an integration of physical

infrastructures among islands and identified, as

one of the alternatives, sea water air cooling

(SWAC)

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CAF Strategy

Deep seawater resources are a valuable natural

resource in the Caribbean that can be used for energy

generation, cooling, desalination, aquaculture and

agriculture.

The most economically viable use of this deep water

is to provide air-conditioning in buildings through

Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) systems. A

SWAC system consists of a cold seawater supply pipe

(intake), a pumping unit and heat exchanger (at the

shoreline), and a closed loop with fresh water distribution

to cover cooling needs of each building connected

through a secondary heat exchanger.

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Sea Water Air Conditioning

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Sea Water Air Conditioning

Between 2014 CAF invested US$ 200,000 to perform,

among other activities, a preliminary assessment of the

technical and economic aspects related to the introduction

of SWAC in four Caribbean islands

The results showed that the potential use of technology in

the Caribbean SWAC was technically and economically

feasible in several locations.

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CAF Strategy

16www.caf.com

A PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR DEEP SEAWATER AIR

CONDITIONING SYSTEMS IN THE CARIBBEAN

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CAF Launched a Regional District Cooling Program

Given the success of the first study on SWAC in the Caribbean, and the

identification of additional locations in Latin America potentially eligible

for projects for district cooling, CAF proceeded with the launching of a

Regional District Cooling Program that includes: a) sea water air

conditioning (SWAC) for Caribbean coastal locations; and b)

centralized urban cooling (District Cooling) systems for non-coastal

Latin American cities.

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CAF Regional District Cooling Program

Prioritized Island Locations in the Caribbean (SWAC)

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1

2

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5-7

10

8

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Prioritized Mainland Locations in Latin America

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Implementation phases


US$ 693,000

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CAF Regional District Cooling Program (Phase I)

The program with a budget of US$ 693,000 includes the following

activities:

The realization of two major regional SWAC conferences (one

already carried out in Panama);

Regional SWAC studies in the Caribbean (one to be contracted out

this month);

A district cooling study in Medellin, Colombia; and

The preparation of a full size GEF grant proposal for a

Caribbean SWAC regional project

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Regional SWAC studies in the Caribbean

(to be contracted out this month) will include the realization of

the following specific studies:

• A preliminary evaluation of the environmental impacts and mitigating measures

related to the installation of SWAC projects in the Caribbean for the proposed

localities.

• Detailed evaluation of the cooling loads of potential clients of a SWAC project in

Puerto Plata that might be commercially interested to be connected to the

distribution system. Estimation of carbon emission reductions should also be

addressed

• Feasibility studies for introducing SWAC projects in the locations of Punta Cana

(DR), Santa Marta (CO), and pre-feasibility studies Playa Coronado near

Panama City (PA), Colon (PA) and Puerto Armuelles (PA), including the

estimation of carbon emission reductions for each project


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All the activities of the CAF Regional District Cooling Program

(Phase I) will be carried out during 2017 and the results will

be presented in the Third Regional District Cooling

Conference at the end of the year


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Frank VanoyPrincipal Executive

[email protected]

Alvaro AtilanoPrincipal Executive

[email protected]

Thank You!

sea water air conditioning in the caribbean

Environment