Barbados will be represented at the 14th Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF), to be held in Florida, from April 26-28.
Representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Business Development will attend the meeting, as well as a number of private sector officials.
During the forum, there will be a presentation on Barbados: Pushing the Renewable Frontiers, where the presenters will discuss the progress being made in the country’s plan of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
Those presenting will be: Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Fair Trading Commission, Dr. Marsha Atherley-Ikechi; CEO of Export Barbados (BIDC), Mark Hill; Strategic Advisor Eastern Caribbean, HDF Energy Caribbean Holdings Limited, Aidan Rogers; and Founder and Chairman of Williams Industries Inc., Ralph “Bizzy” Williams. The session will be moderated by Head of the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico – Infrastructure & Energy Division at IDB Invest, Gian Franco Carassale.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, April 27, the winners of the 14 CREF Industry Awards of Excellence will be announced and presented with prizes.
The awards will be given to recognise excellence in clean energy programmes and projects, and the Ministry of Energy and Business Development has coordinated the submission of three projects.
They are: Energy Efficient Retrofit of Public Streetlights for Best Energy Efficiency Project; Electric Vehicle Pilot and Study for Best E-Mobility Project, and the Transport Board’s Electrification Bus Project for Best E-Mobility Project.
CREF is an annual renewable energy conference, which started in 2008, and has grown to become the biggest renewable energy event for the Caribbean.
Its objectives are to introduce Caribbean Governments and utilities to the best in international sustainable energy technologies, and to provide international developers, governments and investors with the knowledge, tools and insights needed to make informed decisions.
This year’s CREF will focus on inspiring action by bringing the full ecosystem of policymakers, regulators, utilities, investors, developers and financiers together in an environment which encourages the market to “meet, originate and transact”.