Washington, DC, August 5th, 2014 – Partners of the Americas congratulates Dr. Dan Kammen and Dr. Janaki Alavalapati, Senior Fellows in the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), on winning the ECPA Senior Fellows Innovation Projects Grant Award. ECPA Senior Fellows is an initiative that utilizes U.S. technical experts from the academic, non-profit, or private sectors to serve as consultants and speakers in Latin America and the Caribbean. The grant competition sought proposals that develop local projects to increase sustainability, grow the use of clean energy, build models for adaptation to climate change, and design solutions for reducing deforestation.

The Department of State and Partners of the Americas are committed to sharing best practices and expertise in clean energy, sustainable urban development, climate change adaption, and reducing emissions from deforestation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Representatives from Partners of the Americas, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA), and a former Senior ECPA Fellow convened as a panel of judges to determine the winners of the competition. After a thorough review, Dr. Dan Kammen and Dr. Janaki Alavalapati were selected as the grant award recipients.

Dr. Dan Kammen’s proposal entitled “Sustainable and Cost-Effective Growth for Chile’s Electricity Sector Requiring Creating Local Capacity on Integrative Planning Modeling Tools,” seeks to raise awareness and capacity in Chile for growing a sustainable energy system. During the proposed project, Dr. Kammen will partner with the Center for Energy Innovation at the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez (UAI), which has expansion paths for Chile’s electricity sector through the Escenarios Energeticos 2030 platform. Another proposed partner will be the Asociacion Chilena de Energias Renovables (ACERA) which is a trade association that groups the main renewable energy in the country, including solar, wind, geothermal, marine, and small hydropower developers. Through this project, Dr. Kammen will analyze the challenges that Chile’s energy sector will face in the coming decades and work together for the long-term to build capacity and sustainability to ensure cost-effective growth for Chile’s electricity sector.

Dr. Janaki Alavalapati’s proposal entitled “Building Capacities for Sustainable Forested Landscapes,” strives to develop sustainable agricultural and forest management capacities for economic, environmental, and societal benefits in Belize. The proposed project will draw on the strengths of topical/disciplinary expertise, institutional infrastructure, nearby forest and agricultural field sites, and pooled social and financial capital resources. The Capacity Building Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture, Forests, and Environment (CBI-SAFE) is a collaborative partnership among government, non-government, private, and academic organizations to offer a series of short technical courses, and non-technical workshops covering key topics such as sustainable agriculture and forested landscapes. The project is expected to continue for the long-term in an effort to institutionalize capacity building efforts locally and ensure the application of innovative practices for sustainable forest management in Belize.

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Partners of the Americas is an international network that promotes social and economic development in the Americas through leadership, voluntary service, and development programs. Its mission is to connect individuals, volunteers, institutions, businesses, and communities to serve and to change lives through lasting partnerships. Partners envisions an interconnected hemisphere that maximizes the social and economic potential, and leverages the full diversity, of the Americas.