CREF 2009

290 participants, 37 countries, 12 Government Ministers, the vast majority of the region's utilities, ink on at least one renewable energy project, and the prospect of ink on many others ... CREF was a terrific success. Thank you to all our speakers, sponsors, and delegates.

We will be announcing the dates and venue for CREF 2010 shortly. If you are not our mailing list but would like to be, please submit your information here. If you would like to access CREF 2009 presentations please email us at info@caribbeanenergyforum.com.


Hon. James Robertson (center),
Jamaica's Minister of Energy

  

Jigar Shah, CEO, Carbon War Room;
Founder and former CEO, SunEdison

Hon. Carlisle Powell,
Nevis Island Administration		  
James Moss Solomon, Grace Kennedy,
and Aubyn Hill, Corporate Strategies Ltd.

Hon. Charles Savarin, Dominica's Minister of Energy, and Robert Blenker, Head of Renewable Energy, WRB Enterprises		  
Gabriel Goldschmidt, Head of Infrastructure
Latin America & the Caribbean, IFC


To view last year’s speaker presentations please click here.


2009 Speakers Included:

  • Hon. James Robertson - Minister of Energy & Mining, Government of Jamaica
  • Jigar Shah, CEO, The Carbon War Room, Founder & Former CEO, SunEdison
  • Hon. Charles Savarin, Minister for Public Utilities, Energy and Ports, Commonwealth of Dominica - Dominica
  • Hon. Carlisle Powell - Minister of Communications, Works & Public Utilities, Nevis Island Administration
  • Richard Ashby, Chief Financial Officer, RES Americas
  • Dr. Frederique Abreu, Hemispheric Coordinator of Agrienergy and Biofuels, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation
  • Franz Gerner - Caribbean Task Team Leader & Senior Energy Economist, The World Bank
  • Vernon Lawrence - Managing Director & CEO, Grenada Electricity Company (GRENLEC)
  • Paul Thurk, Partner, ARCH Venture Partners - USA
  • Asier Aya - PV Division Director, Abengoa Solar, Inc. - USA
  • Hugo Hodge - Executive Director & CEO, Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority (VIWAPA)


OAS's Mark Lambrides introduces Jerry Butler and CREF at Fifth Summit of the Americas Policy Dialogue.

Video provided by OAS.org

Click to View >

October 8
U.S. SUPPORTS THE CARIBBEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY FORUM
A U.S. government delegation, including officials from the U.S. Departments of State and Energy and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), will participate in the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) on October 15 and 16, 2009, in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  The U.S. delegation will highlight opportunities for partnership on renewable energy and energy efficiency to help address Caribbean energy challenges and support cleaner economic growth in the region of the world most dependent on oil imports. 

Energy ministers and officials from the Caribbean region will attend the CREF, along with participants from the public and private sectors and development finance banks.  The U.S. delegation will highlight President Obama’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), U.S.-Brazil Biofuels Cooperation in Jamaica, and the availability of U.S. government financing for private sector renewable energy development.  In addition to the conference, the U.S. delegation will meet with Caribbean energy officials, senior staff of the Organization of American States, Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, and other international donors to discuss opportunities for deeper collaboration under the ECPA. 

The U.S. State Department, the Government of Brazil, and Organization of American States will announce a request for proposals (RFP) for the implementation of the project Technical Assistance for Biofuels Development and Policy Support in Jamaica.  The project will provide technical assistance to support the development and implementation of Jamaica’s biofuels programs, provide information on how other countries are formulating legal and regulatory frameworks for a vibrant liquid biofuels industry, facilitate the sharing of perspectives among the respective stakeholders, and advise on appropriate technologies.
 
At the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009, President Obama invited all governments of the Western Hemisphere to join in the ECPA to promote cooperation on renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy poverty, cleaner fossil fuels, and infrastructure.  

August 21
ELEVEN REGIONAL ENERGY MINISTERS CONFIRMED TO ATTEND CREF
Eleven Caribbean Government Ministers responsible for energy policy are currently confirmed to attend the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF). They will be joined by senior public officials and high-ranking executives from Caribbean utilities representing a total of seventeen countries from across the region. The extraordinarily high-level turn-out reflects the importance now attached to renewables in the Caribbean, and is a clear demonstration of an across-the-board commitment to long-term energy and economic security. For international developers who were concerned that the economic downturn, coupled with the falling price of oil, would sound the death knell for renewables in the Caribbean, this is a clear indicator that opportunities in the region are alive and well.

August 7
Jigar Shah, CEO of The Carbon War Room, and Founder & Former CEO of SunEdison, has confirmed he will give a keynote address at the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF, Ritz-Carlton, Montego Bay, October 15-16).
 
The Carbon War Room is a new initiative launched by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, to harness the energy, influence, and resources of some of the world¹s top entrepreneurs to help revolutionize the carbon economy. It will work with partners to identify, communicate and mobilize resources for some of the most critical battles in the fight on climate change. As the Caribbean makes difficult long-term decisions about energy, the region has become one such battle-ground.

A renowned renewable energy visionary, Jigar Shah launched SunEdison in 2003 and changed the face of solar in the US and world-wide. Mr. Shah pioneered a model which allowed organizations to purchase solar energy services under predictably priced long-term contracts and avoid the significant costs of ownership and operation of solar energy systems. His model has served as the foundation for much of the growth of the solar industry in the past five years. Six years on, SunEdison is the biggest solar company in the world and has more solar energy systems and megawatts under management than any other.
 
Mr. Shah joins a world-class roster of keynotes at CREF which includes Hon. Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Governor George E. Pataki, the former Governor of the State of New York, and Aristides Fernandez Zucco, Secretary of State and President of the National Energy Commission of the Dominican Republic.

July 13
Arístides Fernandez Zucco, Secretary of State, and President of the National Energy Commission of the Dominican Republic, has confirmed that he will give a keynote address at the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF). The Dominican Republic has committed to supplying 20% of its energy needs from renewable resources within the next 15 years. With a population of 10,000,000 this represents an ambitious commitment to tapping the country's extensive wind and solar potential, and to developing its potential for biofuels production.

June 19
George E. Pataki, Former Governor of the State of New York, has confirmed that he will give a keynote address at the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum.

During his tenure as New York’s chief executive, Governor Pataki advanced award-winning, cutting-edge policies in the renewable energy and environmental fields. His initiatives included the protection of over one million acres of open space, the adoption of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the implementation of the nation’s first green building tax credit, landmark brownfield legislation and programs to enhance the production and use of alternative energy like biodiesel, ethanol, fuel cells and clean coal. In 2005, BusinessWeek named Governor Pataki one of the top 20 “Individuals who stand out for their efforts to cut gases that cause global warming” in the world. Also, in 2006, Vanity Fair called him a governor who “gets it” in its Green Issue for his efforts concerning the environment.

Joining Governor Pataki on the conference agenda is John Cahill who served as Governor Pataki’s Chief of Staff from 2002 through 2006. In May 2005, Mr. Cahill took on the additional role of leading and coordinating the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site and the recovery of Lower Manhattan. From 1995 to 2001, he was the general counsel and then commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

Governor Pataki and Mr. Cahill currently serve as the Founder & Chairman and CEO, respectively, of the Pataki-Cahill Group. They are also both of counsel to Chadbourne Parke.

April 2
The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Hon. Bruce Golding, confirmed today that he will give the opening keynote address at the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF). The Jamaican government announced in 2005 that by 2010 10% of the country's energy needs would be met from renewable sources. As that deadline draws near, Lisa Bell, the Deputy President of Jamaica Trade & Invest (JTI), emphasized that "The Prime Minister's involvement (in CREF) underscores the government's commitment to diversifying its energy sources, as well as to attracting foreign investment into this vital new sector."

March 19
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) today confirmed that it will partner with the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) to advance the renewable energy agenda in the region. Last year OPIC approved US$505 million in financing for six new private equity funds to invest in clean and renewable energy projects in emerging markets worldwide. The funds will mobilize a formidable US$1.6bn in capital for the sector. This partnership represents OPIC's ongoing commitment to playing a central role in the development of the Caribbean's substantial renewable energy resources.