Jamaica has announced that it is looking for $300 million of investment in the island's renewable energy efforts, as the nation continues its transition towards a clean, low-carbon and more sustainable economy. It is seeking a mix of public and private funding.

Daryl Vaz, the Minister of Economic Growth and Job Creation, explained that the country's government was seeking to create new frameworks that would help green energy projects to progress across different economic sectors.

He explained that these projects and frameworks would comply with the guidelines and financing rules laid out by the Green Climate Fund, which exists as part of the UNFCCC and works to help developing nations to implement measures that will tackle climate change.

The Minister said that the Jamaican government had already launched a dozen sector strategies with accompanying action plans that would help to build a greener economy and ensure a more prosperous future for all Jamaicans.

Jamaica is working to source 30pc of its power needs from renewables by 2030. The Minister of Science, Energy and Technology said last month that the island was on track to meet its goal.

Already 10pc of its net electricity generation is from green sources, with 80MW of new generation capacity added from renewables in 2016. Official figures suggest that over 50pc of Jamaica's total electricity needs will be met from renewable sources, which include solar, wind and biomass, within just two years. This will represent nearly 700MW of fresh capacity and reduce the island's reliance on expensive energy imports or polluting fossil fuels.

24MW of this new capacity was delivered by the Wigton Wind Farm Ltd. Built by Blue Mountain Renewable Ltd, the total amount of wind power from this development will be 36.6 MW once it is completed.