Islands

Energy Snapshot
Curacao
This profile provides a snapshot of the energy
landscape of Curacao, an autonomous member of the
Curacao
Kingdom of the Netherlands located off the coast of
Venezuela. Curacao’s utility rates are approximately
$0.26 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), below the Caribbean
regional average of $0.33/kWh. Like many island
nations, Curacao is highly dependent on imported Curacao’s Renewable Energy Goal:
fossil fuels (more than 95% of the island’s electricity
40% reduction in energy consumption by 20204
is generated using petroleum-based fuels), leaving it
vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations that directly
impact the cost of electricity.
Government and Utility Overview

Population1 146,836 Ministry: Electricity Monitor, Bureau

Government of Telecommunications and Post
Authority
Total Area 444 sq. km
Key Figure: Director J.D. de Canha

$3.128 billion
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
U.S. dollars (USD) Designated
Electricity Monitor, Bureau of
Institution for
Telecommunications and Post
Renewable Energy
Share of GDP Spent on Electricity – 4.2%2
Fuel and Imports Total – N/A*3
Electricity Monitor, Bureau of
Regulator
Telecommunications and Post
GDP Per Capita $15,000 USD

Urban Population Share Unknown Name:

Utility Government-Owned
Aqualectra
*Most of Curacao’s oil imports are feedstocks for the islands large, export-focused refining operation. The net export
value of petroleum products totaled 14.0% of GDP in 2012.

power from the generation plant associated with the Refineria

Electricity Sector Data
di Korsou (RdK) oil refinery.6 Aqualectra also receives power
The electric utility for Curacao is the Curacao Water and
from two wind farms at Tera Kora and Playa Kanoa.7
Power Company, more commonly referred to as Aqualec-
tra. The utility is the island’s only provider of water and Curacao faces energy security issues not only due to its
electricity production, though regulatory changes have been reliance on imported fuels but also because of the age of
discussed to permit the entry of independent power produc- its generation infrastructure. Thirty megawatts (MW) of
ers.5 The company owns the majority of the generation on the Aqualectra’s generation portfolio is beyond its expected
island and supplements its portfolio by contracting surplus service life and the surplus power from the RdK refinery is
Electricity Sector Overview

180 MW (Total)
Energy Consumption by Sector (2011) 5
Total Installed 130 MW (Aqualectra)
Capacity (2012)6 20 MW (RdK)
Residential
30 MW (wind farms)
Losses 13% 34.7%

Peak Demand5 130 MW

Commercial &
Total Generation Industrial 52.3%
765 gigawatt-hours
(2011)5

Renewable Share Energy Generation Mix (2012) 8

13%
(2012)8

Transmission &
Distribution Losses 13% Wind 13% Petroleum 87%
(2011)5

Electrification Rate
88.2%
(2010)9

Residential $0.26 Existing Policy and Regulatory Framework13

Average
Electricity Tariffs Commercial $0.32 Renewable Energy
(USD/kWh)10
Feed-in Tariff12
Industrial $0.26
Net Metering/Billing14

Interconnection Standards11
subject to frequent outages. To maintain reliability, Aqualec-
tra was forced to contract generation on a temporary basis Renewables Portfolio Standard/Quota
from Aggreko International Projects; the first phase of Tax Credits6
emergency supply was for 10 MW in 2008, but by 2011 that
amount had reached 44 MW.2 Tax Reduction/Exemption6

Public Loans/Grants6
Clean Energy Policy Environment
Green Public Procurement
In 2009, Curacao developed an energy policy document,
which sets out general guidance and governing principles Energy Efficiency
for further study of energy issues.4 It suggests the goal of
Energy Efficiency Standards
reducing energy consumption by 40% by 2020 and encour-
ages the investigation of combining wind power with storage Tax Credits
to provide 100% of the island’s energy needs. In 2011, the
government published a policy document for the regula- Tax Reduction/Exemption
tion of the electricity sector, which elaborated on the ideas Public Demonstration
outlined in the 2009 energy policy.6 This later document
encouraged the licensing of independent power producers to Restrictions on Incandescent Bulbs
increase competition and lower cost in the generation sector Appliance Labeling Standards
while maintaining Aqualectra’s monopoly on distribution. It
also encouraged the elimination of import taxes on renewable Targets
energy generation equipment and the creation of a tax credit
Renewable Energy
for the installation of those systems.
Energy Efficiency
In Place In Development
Renewable Energy Status and Potential5
Wind Hydropower Geothermal Ocean Biomass Solar

Potential: High Potential: High

Potential: None Potential: None Potential: Medium Potential: Low
Installed Capacity: Installed Capacity:
Installed Capacity: 0 Installed Capacity: 0 Installed Capacity: 0 Installed Capacity: 0
30 MW 17 8 MW20,21

In 2011, Curacao launched a net metering program for 2012 and is expected to provide roughly 20% of the island’s
distributed wind and solar generation systems.11 Residential energy generation.17 A second installation at Tera Kora is
systems smaller than 10 kilowatts (kW) and commercial planned to come online by 2016, adding another 16.5 MW of
systems smaller than 100 kW were eligible to participate. At wind capacity to Curacao’s total.18
the same time, large commercial customers could apply for a
Curacao does not have any utility-scale solar installations to
feed-in tariff for systems up to 1 MW in size.
date but has seen a large number of distributed solar instal-
On Jan. 1, 2015, the net metering regime was replaced with a lations, including installations larger than 700 kW at both
feed-in tariff on all residential and commercial installations.12 the Parera Naval Base and the Central Bank of Curacao and
The compensation rate is roughly $0.18/kWh for energy Sint Maarten.19 In the first year of the net metering program,
exported to the grid. The change also included fixed monthly applications were submitted for 5 MW of distributed solar
charges of roughly $9/kW for residential systems and $18/ capacity, with the total interconnected capacity reaching 8
kW for commercial systems, which have been described as MW by February 2014.20, 21
a “sun tax” and have provoked lawsuits from the renewable
energy sector.13 Opportunities for Clean
Energy Transformation
Energy Efficiency and Curacao’s long history with wind energy has provided it with
Renewable Energy Projects valuable experience in integrating variable energy resources
Curacao features two of the oldest but most productive wind into the electrical system while also demonstrating the value
energy installations in the Caribbean. The first installation, a of avoiding petroleum-based electricity generation. An
12-turbine, 3-MW facility, was placed in service at Tera Kora expansion of renewable generation capacity could increase
in 1993.15 This was followed by an 18-turbine, 9-MW instal- those benefits, particularly in light of the condition of the
lation at Playa Kanoa in 2000. Since Curacao features some island’s thermal generation fleet. With the decision to make
of the best wind energy resources in the Caribbean, annual electricity generation more competitive, utility-scale renew-
capacity factors reached as high as 61% at Playa Kanoa in able generation is on a competitive footing, although the fees
2002.16 To better utilize these excellent wind resources, a on distributed generators may discourage the adoption of
renewable project developer, NuCapital, purchased both sites those technologies. In addition, Curacao has the opportunity
and repowered them, replacing the existing generators with to undertake concrete actions in energy efficiency that will
five 3-MW Vestas turbines at each site. The combined 30 MW enable it to reach its energy consumption reduction target of
between the two sites was formally commissioned in July 40% by 2020.
Energy Transition Initiative
This energy snapshot was prepared to support the Energy Transition
Initiative, which leverages the experiences of islands, states, and cities that
have established a long-term vision for energy transformation and are
successfully implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
to achieve established clean energy goals.

Through the initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy and its partners
provide government entities and other stakeholders with a proven
framework, objective guidance, and technical tools and resources for
transitioning to a clean energy system/economy that relies on local
resources to substantially reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

1 
All information in this table is from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise 11 
http://www.btnp.org/PDF/Beleidsnota_Kleinschalige_Duurzame_
noted; https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cc.html. Stroomvoorziening_7_november_2011.pdf.
2 
http://www.aqualectra.com/images/stories/IUHNV%20FS%20Consolidated%20 12 
http://www.btnp.org/images/stories/pdf/electriciteit/14_100MR_
Dec%2031%202010%20-%20%20%209%20April%202014.pdf. teruglevertarievenDuurzaamOpgewekteElektriciteit2015.pdf.
3 
https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/explore/tree_map/hs/export/cuw/all/show/2012/. 13 
http://curacaochronicle.com/local/feed-in-tariff-energy-remains/.
4 
http://clingendael.info/publications/2009/20090626_ciep_curacao_dejong.pdf. 14 
http://www.aqualectra.com/en/green-energy.
5 
http://www.cepal.org/portofspain/noticias/paginas/4/51434/lcarw2_Curacao.pdf. 15 
http://www.caricom.org/jsp/projects/credp/Aqualectra%20presentation.pdf.
6 
http://www.btnp.org/PDF/Beleidsnota_energie_4_februari_2011_Engels.pdf. 16 
http://www.credp.org/Data/CAWEI_Wind_Survey_Report.pdf.
7 
http://www.nucapitalsvcs.com/index.php/projects. 17 
http://nucapitalsvcs.com/index.php/projects/29-playa-kanoa-and-tera-kora-curacao.
8 
http://www.sids2014.org/content/documents/599National%20Report%20 18 
http://www.aspiravi.be/en/our-projects/wind-onshore/curacao/tera-kora-ii.
Curacao%202014%20Sustainable%20Development%20FINAL%20(July%20
2014).pdf.
19 
http://www.ecoenergycuracao.net/en/about-us.

9 
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS.
20 
http://www.ecoenergycuracao.net/blog/aqualectra-bevindt-zich-op-een-kruispunt.

10 
http://www.aqualectra.com/images/stories/Mrt_TARIFFS%20VALID%20AS%20
21 
http://www.amigoe.com/napa/napa/167571-explosieve-groei-zonne-energie-
OF%20MARCH%20%201st%20%202015.pdf. op-curacao.

Page 1 photo from Shutterstock 247801453; page 4 photo from iStock 29878236

Prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a national

laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy; NREL is operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Islands DOE/GO-102015-4656 • June 2015