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The Ritz-Carlton, Montego Bay, Jamaica will be the venue for the launch of the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) on October 15th and 16th later this year. CREF is the region's first comprehensive public-private sector event dedicated to driving forward renewable energy implementation across the Caribbean. The Forum will assemble an influential audience of regional energy decision-makers and international providers of financing, technology and regulatory expertise.
CREF, which is hosted in association with Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA), has powerful institutional backing from the Organization of American States (OAS), Caricom, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (Carilec), and other key stakeholders in the region's renewable energy sector.
The Forum keynote address will be given by the Honourable Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica. He is joined on the agenda by renewable energy leaders from the Caribbean, the US and Europe. They include: Dr. Larry Kazmerski, Executive Director at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL); Franz Gerner, Caribbean Task Team Leader & Senior Energy Economist for the World Bank; Matthew McManus, the US State Department's Division Chief for Energy Producer Country Affairs; Hugo Hodge, CEO of the Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority; and Jamie Fergusson, Investment Officer for the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Over the course of two days CREF's speakers and participants will debate and analyse:
- How to secure financing for renewable projects in challenging economic times
- How the Caribbean can encourage global investment in its renewable energy sector
- The type of regulatory environment we need to ensure the long-term success of the Caribbean renewable energy sector
- What the Caribbean can learn from renewable energy success stories in the region and world-wide
- The optimum cutting-edge wind, solar, hydro, waste-to-energy, biomass and geothermal technologies for Caribbean implementation
Says Forum Chairman, Jerry Butler, who until recently served on the Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), "We are hopeful that the Caribbean will never see oil prices rise above US $100 per barrel, but realistically we know that today's cheap oil is at best a short term phenomenon. We cannot forget last year's US $147 per barrel prices. We cannot be lured back into complacent dependence on imported oil. The Caribbean needs to start planning for long term sustainable energy security. Our fragile island states are simply too vulnerable to oil shocks. CREF will serve as the region's annual score card for renewable energy implementation. CREF will also act as a catalyst to ensure that we sustain vital momentum towards our renewable energy goals through these challenging economic times."
Says Matthew Perks, CREF's Executive Director: "No-one disputes the extent of the renewable opportunity across the region. The challenge is to put in place the right regulatory structure, the right financing, and the right technology. We aim to bring all of the above to Jamaica in October."
For more information on CREF and to view the latest agenda please visit the conference website at www.caribbeanenergyforum.com.
For more information please contact:
Matthew Perks, Executive Director at mperks@caribbeanenergyforum.com or call the conference hotline on +1 800 388 8078.
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