Agenda - 18th Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum

October 14 - 16, 2026 Panama City, Panama

Wednesday

October 14

8:30-9:00

Registration & Coffee

Additional Enrollment Required

9:00-12:30

Workshop: Aggregated Procurement: Building Scale for Caribbean Energy Development

Pooling demand, standardizing procurement, and reducing investor risk may be the key to unlocking Caribbean energy transition at scale. A working forum for governments, utilities, regulators, and development partners.

State of play: what does recent analysis show, and where can pooled effort have the most impact?
Enabling conditions: aligning regulatory frameworks, national plans, and IRPs for coordinated procurement
Procurement models: standardizing specs, contracts, and governance for scalable delivery
From concept to action: who are the willing early movers, and how does a first cluster become a regional strategy?

Invitation Only

12:30-2:00

Women in Renewable Energy Luncheon

Hosted by CCSA

5:30-7:00

CREF Welcome Cocktail Reception

Thursday

October 15

8:00-8:50

Registration & Networking

8:50-9:00

Chairperson Welcome

9:00-9:45

The Caribbean in a New Global Energy Order

What has changed in the Caribbean’s operating environment over the last 12 months, and what does that mean for the regional energy agenda?

Can we leverage current volatility to drive forward the energy transition?
Where is the region exposed e.g. fuel supply, financing, technology access, climate finance? How do we plan for and mitigate?
Which partnerships, old and new, matter most for what comes next?
What would deeper regional coordination and integration mean for resilience, affordability, and long-term energy security?

Melanie Chen

Caribbean Energy Chamber
Founding Chair
Anton Edmunds

Inter-American Development Bank
General Manager, Regional Country Department Caribbean
Dr. James Fletcher

CARICOM | GGGI | REN21
Climate Envoy | Council Member | Renewable Energy Champion for the Caribbean
Dr. Mohammad Rafik Nagdee

CCREEE
Executive Director

Rosilena Lindo Riggs

Global Energy & Climate Advisor
Moderator

9:45-10:45

The CREF Ministerial: What Will Caribbean Governments Do Next?

Caribbean governments are being asked to deliver affordable power, hit transition targets, restore utility balance sheets, and rebuild after each storm, often with the same fiscal tools. What gets prioritized, what gets deferred, and where do governments need the private sector and the multilaterals to step up?

How are governments balancing affordability, utility sustainability, and public confidence during transition?
Where can regional cooperation reduce costs, build scale, increase resilience and accelerate delivery?
Where does the next phase of reform need to go: tariff structure, regulatory independence, or procurement?

Dr. Carla Barnett

Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Secretary-General
Hon. Mark Brantley

Nevis Island Administration
Premier

10:45-11:30

Networking Break

11:30-12:15

Capital Flows into Caribbean Energy: What’s Actually Getting Financed

Projects move when risk is shared, returns are credible, and the structure is clear. What financing structures are working in the Caribbean today?

Where is capital flowing today and what technologies or business models are supporting appetite?
How are corporate and industrial offtakers shaping project bankability, and where is demand emerging for private or behind-the-meter supply?
Where do projects stall between concept, procurement, and financing, and why?
How is risk transfer and insurance evolving as storms get more frequent?
What policy and regulatory updates are needed to increase the flow of private capital into regional energy projects?

Adam Carter

CIBC Caribbean
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Tiago Favarin de Moraes

Carpenter Marsh Fac Re, Marsh & McLennan Companies
Client FAC Leader
Cheryl Senhouse

CARIBBEAN CLIMATE-SMART ACCELERATOR
Finance Innovation Director

Dustin Delany

Dentons
Chair and Chief Managing Partner Moderator

12:15-1:00

Converting Institutional Support into Project Delivery

How can governments, utilities and developers better leverage the expanding range of tools on offer by DFIs, ECAs, MDBs and climate finance providers?

How are bilateral lending, guarantees, and export credit tools being adapted for small island markets?
What defines an implementation-ready pipeline from a lender or ECA perspective?
How can smaller markets structure projects to meet procurement, resilience, and credit requirements?
Where can regional coordination or aggregation strengthen outcomes?
What role can blended finance play in crowding in private capital and reducing perceived market risk?

1:00-2:30

Networking Lunch

2:30-3:15

The Utility CEO Discussion: Modernizing the Grid Under Pressure

Utilities must modernize fast while integrating renewables, managing behind-the-meter growth, and holding tariffs. Live polling with expert commentary.

What urgent adjustments to financing and regulatory approaches are necessary to keep utilities viable?
Where does the next dollar of capex go: generation, storage, or T&D hardening?
At what point does behind-the-meter solar stop being a contribution and start being a threat to utility solvency? What’s the cost-recovery model that works?
What variable renewables penetration can your grid actually absorb today, and what has to change to push it higher?

Toni Cartwright-Pratt

Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited
Chief Executive Officer

3:15-3:45

Caribbean-Focused, Globally Engaged: How to Leverage Newer, Stronger Partnerships?

As geopolitical pressures reshape priorities, who is stepping up to support the Caribbean’s energy future? With a more collaborative network of bilateral partners emerging, from Europe and Central America to leading energy and financial institutions, how can the region bring global capital, expertise and private sector commitment into the fold?

Which international partners are increasing their focus on the Caribbean and why?
How are hemispheric, and global actors repositioning themselves in the context of Caribbean energy and trade?
What will define long-term successful partnerships in the region?
How can the Caribbean engage in a significant way with global partners, whilst keeping regional priorities at the core of decision making and strategy?

Ricaurte Vásquez Morales

Panama Canal Authority
Administrator

3:45-4:30

Networking Break

4:30-5:15

Redefining Energy Resilience

As Caribbean power systems evolve toward renewable, distributed, and digital architectures, the definition of resilience is changing. What does it mean to build a grid that can withstand shocks, adapt fast, and keep power affordable?

What does resilience actually mean in a more distributed, renewable system — and how do we measure it?
Which investments deliver the greatest impact: hardening, redundancy, storage, or flexibility?
What role will microgrids, distributed generation, and digital tools play in next-generation systems?
What will it take to move from pilot projects to systemic, island-wide resilience at speed?

5:15-5:45

Orchestrating the Distributed Grid: VPPs, DERMS & the Future of Caribbean Power Systems

As distributed energy systems accelerate across the region, utilities and regulators face a new challenge: how to coordinate increasingly decentralized grids while maintaining reliability, visibility, and system control. Featuring lessons from the USVI and Puerto Rico, this session explores how tools such as virtual power plants and distributed energy resource management systems are bolstering island energy systems.

Is distributed energy becoming the dominant growth model for Caribbean power systems?
Can VPPs and DERMS transform customer-owned assets into dispatchable grid resources and help utilities maintain visibility, dispatch control, and reliability?
What lessons are emerging from the USVI and Puerto Rico experiences?
What digital, regulatory, and market tools are needed to unlock customer participation, flexibility, and a more resilient Caribbean grid?

Christopher Burgess

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Director of Projects, Global South Program
Kyle Fleming

Virgin Islands Energy Office
Director

5:45-6:15

Awards Presentation & Showcase

6:15-8:00

Networking Cocktail Reception

Friday

October 16

6:30-7:30

CREF Fun Run + Net-walk

7:30-9:00

Registration and Coffee Networking

8:15-9:15

Nearshore FPV: Turning land scarcity into energy abundance at sea

Rise & Shine Roundtable

How to make nearshore FPV a viable contributor to island energy systems.

Insuring Energy Transition Assets

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Can insurance keep pace with climate risk and enable projects to reach financial close?

8:15-9:15

Making the Case for E-fuel Market Development

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Where do biofuels and alternative fuels fit in the energy mix and how do they support energy sovereignty?

EVs & Electrification: A New Opportunity for Caribbean Utilities

Rise and Shine Roundtable

EV adoption, fleet electrification and charging infrastructure development are beginning to accelerate across the Caribbean. How can utilities and policymakers prepare for rising electricity demand while ensuring electrification strengthens, rather than destabilizes, island grids and utility business models?

8:15-9:15

Energy Management Systems and Utility Optimization

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Planning & Deploying Microgrids: New Models & Real Use Cases

Rise and Shine Roundtable

How can microgrids work technically, financially, and alongside the main grid?

Marc Lopata

Solar Island Energy
Chief Executive Officer

9:15-9:20

Day Two Chairperson Welcome

9:20-10:15

The Project Pipeline: What’s Moving, What’s Stuck & What’s Next

Which projects are progressing towards procurement, financing, and construction across the Caribbean?

What structures are moving them forward?
Where are projects being anchored by corporate or industrial demand, including behind-the-meter and private supply models?
What barriers remain, and how are developers navigating them?
Where are new opportunities emerging for investors and project partners?

Bruce Levy

BMR Energy
CEO and President
Stéphanie Nour

Econoler
International Director and Lead for Latin America and the Caribbean,

10:15-11:00

Caribbean Geothermal: A Breakthrough Year

After years of commitment and setbacks, geothermal is entering a delivery phase. What enabled progress, and what comes next?

What financing structures are working for geothermal in small island markets?
What lessons from recent drilling and procurement should shape the next wave?
How has political commitment driven progress? Which policy decisions mattered most?
Where can new resources be developed next, and how can regional partners support scale-up?

Hon. Mark Brantley

Nevis Island Administration
Premier

11:00-11:30

Networking Break

11:30-12:15

Marine Energy: Opportunity, Economics & Deployment Reality

Can offshore wind, nearshore FPV, and other marine technologies compete on cost and deliverability in Caribbean systems?

Where can marine and offshore technologies realistically fit into Caribbean plans over the next decade?
What are the advantages of nearshore FPV in the Caribbean? What are the technology choices islands should evaluate for nearshore FPV?
How do the economics compare with solar, storage, and grid upgrades already underway?
Are ports, permitting, and technical capacity ready — and what risks remain underestimated?
Can single-island projects move forward, or does marine energy only work at regional scale?

L. Nigel Burgess

Regulatory Authority of Bermuda
Head of Regulation
Francisco G. Vozza

Fred Olsen 1848
Business Development Director, Floating Solar

12:15-12:45

Caribbean C&I in Action: Case Study Review

Anchored in two real-world case studies, this discussion explores how Caribbean corporates are looking at how they procure, manage and invest in energy. What is driving adoption, which technologies are gaining traction, and what barriers still stand in the way of scale?

Which behind-the-meter technologies are best suited to Caribbean commercial and industrial users across smaller markets and constrained sites?
How are corporates evaluating solar, storage, geothermal and other emerging energy solutions?
What commercial and operational hurdles still stand in the way of wider deployment?
How are businesses approaching resilience, reliability and long-term energy cost management?
What will it take to replicate successful C&I energy models across the wider Caribbean?

12:45-1:30

Storage: The Operational Reality

How much storage is needed and how should it scale alongside rising RE penetration?
What are the most important considerations when assessing dispatch, ancillary systems and reserve capacity?
What procurement and contract structures will enable deployment and cost recovery?
Where are the operational risks as storage becomes central to system reliability?

Additional Enrollment Required

1:00-5:00

Panama Canal Visit to the Miraflores Locks

Limited capacity

CREF delegates are invited to visit one of the world’s most important pieces of trade and logistics infrastructure: the Panama Canal. Join this exclusive post-CREF visit to the Miraflores Locks for a guided experience exploring the Canal’s operations, history and strategic importance to global commerce.

Buses will depart from the Hilton Panama and the visit will include:

Observation decks & historic promenade: Access to panoramic viewpoints with guided insights into the Canal’s history, operations and long-term sustainability.
Miraflores Locks experience: A close-up view of vessels transiting the locks, including a photo stop at the East Wall vantage point.
Canal operations overview: Perspectives on the Canal’s evolving role in global trade, logistics and regional infrastructure development.

Capacity is limited to 75 participants. Sign up at registration.

1:30-1:40

CREF 2026 Take-Aways and Action Items for the Year Ahead

1:40-3:00