Bahamian politicians at the opening of a 1-megawatt solar-powered car park in Nassau, the nation?s main island, part of a larger plan to bring renewable energy to nation. | Courtesy Rocky Mountain Institute

Why hurricane-hit Caribbean islands may be the testing grounds for the future of renewable power With climate change bringing rising seas and stronger storms, islands in the Caribbean are on the front lines of changing weather patterns, as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and, most recently, Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas have shown. These islands could also be on the front lines of combating climate change: A new effort to build and deploy solar-powered microgrids?independent, self-sufficient, renewable means of power generation?could turn the Caribbean into a testing ground for the future of green infrastructure and clean power. ?Islands have been deemed the victims of climate change,? says Justin Locke, senior director at the Rocky Mountain Institute, which is leading an effort, the Islands Energy Program, to install these new solar power systems. ?But they?re really in the process of flipping the script and being solution providers, showing the world that change is possible.?
For the last six years, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has been working in the Caribbean on clean energy solutions. The sustainability-focused nonprofit has focused efforts there because ?there?s a certain set of ingredients,? says Locke.
First, these islands have an incredibly high...