The Energy Transition in the Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands’ (TCI) energy transition is framed by the territory’s heavy reliance on imported diesel for power generation and its strategic ambition to improve energy security, reduce emissions, and build climate resilience. The government’s National Energy Policy and commitments under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) prioritise renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency, and regulatory reforms to encourage private sector participation. Solar PV has been identified as the most viable renewable resource due to the islands’ favourable climate, with early-stage investments in distributed solar systems and microgrid solutions. The Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG), alongside the FortisTCI utility company, is leading energy planning, focusing on diversifying the energy mix and improving grid resilience against hurricane-related disruptions. There is no domestic production of critical minerals in TCI, with full dependency on imports for materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements required for renewable technologies and battery storage systems. Challenges include small grid capacity, financing gaps, hurricane exposure, and limited land availability for utility-scale projects. However, opportunities lie in distributed renewable systems, battery storage expansion, energy resilience innovation, and leveraging UK overseas territory frameworks and climate finance. With clear policy ambition and growing renewable momentum, the Turks and Caicos Islands are well-positioned to strengthen their clean energy transition.