‘Green-backs’

Officials of Williams Caribbean Capital (WCC) are eagerly looking forward to a second round of investment in the alternative energy sector, while reporting success of the recently introduced Williams Green Energy Bonds, which have so far raised approximately $20 million.

In fact, Founder and Chairman of the parent company Williams Industries Inc., Ralph Bizzy Williams said the company was on stream to raise an identical amount by the middle of next year.

The bonds were introduced over two months ago following the launch of the investment company WCC in 2017, which is a joint venture between Williams Industries and New Caribbean Capital Partners (NCCP).

WCC is focused on renewable energy, non-plastic solutions and private equity investments and was designed primarily to create new value diversification for Williams Industries.

Williams told Barbados TODAY he was proud of the investments made so far and the company was on stream to meeting its 2020 investment targets.

“Williams Caribbean Capital, a subsidiary of Williams Industries Inc., has already invested over $20 million and this will increase to $40 million within the next year, subject only to us being granted licences and to the regulators setting a rate structure that allows investors to achieve a fair return on their investments,” he said.

“We will continue to raise finance without any limit until this island is powered entirely by non-polluting alternative energy,” he pledged.

The green energy bonds became the first to be certified in the Caribbean recently by the UK-based Climate Bond Standard Board.

It has also received the backing of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Invest, the private sector arm of the IDB Group.

Williams said this was testament to the “rock solid” nature of the investment.

“The power output is as reliable as the sun, the plant is fully insured and the selling price of our electricity has been locked for the next 20 years on systems licenced before September 27, 2019,” he added.

The investment began with the deployment of 12 megawatts of photovoltaic solar on commercial rooftops in May funded by the initial $20 million raised.

The plan is to raise the second $20 million by mid-2020.

WCC said the green project was good for both bond investors and Barbados in reducing imports of fuel and reducing the island’s carbon footprint.

Co-Founder of WCC Barry O’Brien told Barbados TODAY he too was upbeat about the prospects that the green energy bonds presented for Barbados and the region.

“Investors can use their investment in ‘green’ bonds to promote the fact that they are acting on climate change and behaving in a socially responsible way.

“Via WCC, Barbados is leading the way as the only Caribbean country offering such globally certified green bonds. Furthermore, WCC’s green bonds have been validated via a written second party opinion from Sustainalytics, who are the world leaders for rating the sustainability of companies and bond issuances based on their environmental, social and corporate governance performance,” said O’Brien.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb