A presentation delivered by the Development Bank of Latin America on March 6, 2017 at the Sea Water Air Conditioning in the Caribbean Workshop at the Caribbean Development Bank.

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SEA WATER AIR
CONDITIONING
IN THE CARIBBEAN
Workshop
March 6, 2017
Caribbean Development Bank
Conference Centre
Wildey, St. Michael, Barbados

3. Membership
Evolution
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)

7.  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?

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10.  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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Why Are We Here Today?

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Why Are We Here Today?
Source: IMF Country Report No. 16/279

12. 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

13.  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

15.  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

16. 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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CAF Regional District Cooling Program
Prioritized Mainland Locations in Latin America

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Implementation phases
CAF Regional District Cooling Program
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
CAF Regional District Cooling Program (Phase I)

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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
CAF Regional District Cooling Program (Phase I)

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Frank Vanoy
Principal Executive
fvanoy@caf.com
Alvaro Atilano
Principal Executive
aatilano@caf.com
Thank You!