FLORIDA, CMC -Caribbean countries will be represented at the three-day 17th annual Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF), which begins here on May 7.
The CREF said the forum is the “largest gathering of the regional energy market on the annual calendar,” with more than 25 Caribbean countries represented.
“Simply put, the conference represents the market, the full ecosystem of stakeholders,” CREF said, adding the forum is unique in terms of its “size and the seniority and breadth of its participants.”
The forum is expected to attract more than 500 delegates from 40 countries and will begin with an interactive workshop hosted by the World Bank titled “Unlocking the Caribbean’s Renewable Energy Potential.”
The organizers said several topics are driving this year’s forum, including energy independence in a time of geopolitical uncertainty; future-focused utilities, including renewables capacity, battery storage, and capital expenditure strategy; attracting and effectively deploying impact investment; addressing regulatory, operational, and financial barriers; and national energy strategies.
Bermuda, which has since announced plans to achieve 85 percent renewable energy generation by 2035, will be represented at the Miami conference by its Home Affairs Minister, Alexa Lightbourne, who will address Bermuda’s “integrated approach to energy reform.”
“This forum provides an invaluable opportunity for Bermuda to contribute to and learn from regional counterparts as we strengthen our path towards a just energy transition, one that balances innovation with inclusion, said Lightbourne, who will be the featured speaker in the CREF Ministerial: Diverse Pathways to Energy Transition in the Caribbean panel.
Other Caribbean speakers will include Nevis Premier Mark Brantley, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Urban Development Benarva Browne, the Minister of Energy in the Bahamas, Jobeth Lillian Coleby-Davis, Grenada’s Environment and Energy Renewable Minister Kerryne James and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) climate envoy, Dr. James Fletcher.
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