DR - Renewables ‘boom’ in the Dominican Republic, but some feel sidelined
Wind and solar projects have faced complaints from communities and in protected areas, as experts call for stronger planning laws and impact assessments
Sitting a few metres from the Girasol Solar Park, the largest photovoltaic power plant in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, Carlos Suazo claims that this majestic infrastructure is responsible for the increased heat in his community.
Like Suazo, several other residents in Yaguate, a town in the southern province of San Cristóbal, claim that temperatures here have increased due to the presence of more than 268,000 solar panels next door to their homes.
The 120-megawatt facility is one of nine photovoltaic plants in the Dominican Republic, where recent years have seen a “boom” in the development of solar and wind energy projects, partly due to the rush to reach the national goal of 25% of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2025, up from around 17% in 2021.
To date, the Dominican Republic has 10 wind farms and nine solar plants in operation, as well as one biomass plant. As of September 2023, these energy sources totalled 1.1 gigawatts and represented 19% of the total installed capacity, positioning the country as a leader in renewable energy in the Caribbean.
Aerial view of the more than 268,000 solar panels of the Girasol Solar Park in Yaguate, San Cristóbal province, Dominican Republic (Image: Erika Santelices / Diálogo Chino)
In addition, the National Energy Commission (CNE) reported in April that 18 solar plants and two wind farms were under construction and will come into operation by 2025, with these two sources’ share in the National Interconnected Electricity System (SENI) alone expected to reach 25%.
But despite the giant strides the country has made, major obstacles remain. Most of these projects have been developed prior to the country having a land-use planning law, which would allow for a thorough assessment of their potential impacts on people, agricultural land or protected areas.
“Until now, solar and wind energy projects [in the Dominican Republic] have been located based on high rates of solar radiation and high rates of wind load, but without taking into account fundamental aspects of territorial planning, environmental impact and urban or agricultural expansion,” says Osiris de León, a geologist and member of the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic.
So far, projects have only required the approval of the ministries of the Environment and Natural Resources, Agriculture and the CNE, which is the body in charge of the operational management of energy policies. It also oversees monitoring and compliance with the country’s 2007 law that provided incentives for the development of renewable energy.
It was not until 2022 that the Dominican state enacted the Law on Territorial Planning, Land Use and Human Settlements (No. 368-22), and its implementing regulations have not yet been published.
Erick Dorrejo, director of Border Zone Development Policies of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD) of the Dominican Republic, explains that a commission is currently working on the implementing regulations for the recent.
“The instruments foreseen in the law can contribute to establishing the ideal location for these projects and, at the same time, the spaces for separation from other identified uses in the territory,” Dorrejo added.
The absence, to date, of such regulations and adequate planning has caused anguish and discomfort for residents in the vicinity of some projects, who are feeling repercussions in their daily lives.
Residents claim climate and land impacts
The residents of Yaguate do not have a scientific explanation for what they claim is happening in their community. However, across the Caribbean on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, where renewable projects have previously been met with frustration from local communities, experts lend backing to their complaints.
Articulación Yucatán is a sustainable development organisation that campaigns for the protection of natural resources, and according to its transdisciplinary team, it is possible for photovoltaic plants to lead to heat increases.
