Caribbean nations advance on landmark renewable energy aggregated procurement programme

Bridgetown, Barbados | June 3, 2026 — Public officials, national regulators, development finance partners, and technical experts from across the Caribbean convened in Bridgetown, Barbados, from 26 to 28 May 2026, for the Caribbean Aggregation Procurement Programme (CAPP) Regional Workshop, a landmark gathering aimed at accelerating the region’s energy transition through coordinated, large-scale renewable energy and battery storage procurement.

Organised by RELP in partnership with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and the Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR), the three-day workshop brought together government delegations, energy regulators, and financial institutions to advance a shared objective: making competitive, aggregated renewable energy procurement a political and regulatory reality for the Caribbean.

A Region Ready to Act Together

The workshop opened with high-level addresses that set the tone for three days of substantive dialogue. Permanent Secretary Kevin Hunte, delivering opening remarks on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Energy, Business Development and Consumer Affairs of Barbados, Kerry Simmons, framed the challenge with candour and the opportunity with urgency.

PS Hunte drew attention to the fundamental paradox at the heart of the Caribbean energy challenge: a region sitting atop extraordinary renewable resources yet continuing to pay some of the highest electricity prices in the world. His call to action was clear and unambiguous.

“How can we change it? My answer is in one word: together (…) When fifteen Caribbean ministries go out together for a few gigawatts, structured intelligently with standardised contracts and credit enhancement built in, that is a tender the entire global renewable energy industry will compete for. (…) The overwhelming majority of the electricity that powers our hospitals, our schools, our small businesses, our homes is generated using fossil fuels that we import from somewhere else. Every kilowatt hour we consume is in part a transaction within a larger global commodity market over which we have absolutely no control, conducted in a currency that is not even our own.”

Kevin Hunte, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy, Business Development and Consumer Affairs, Barbados

Scale Changes Everything

Ramiro Gómez Barinaga, Director of Country Delivery at RELP, opened the workshop by laying out a data-driven case for regional aggregation. Today, 80% of Caribbean electricity is generated from imported fossil fuels, with prices 50% above the Latin American average, even as global solar and battery storage costs have plummeted.

“The Caribbean Aggregation Procurement Programme is based on one foundational insight: scale changes everything. Bringing Caribbean countries into one coordinated competitive procurement will attract more investors, more bids, and more competition, which means lower prices.”  Ramiro Gómez Barinaga, Director of Country Delivery, RELP

The CAPP first workshop marks the beginning of a new phase for Caribbean energy cooperation. Find the full Press Release in the CAPP workshop media kit.

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About the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet 

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet builds transformative public, private, philanthropic partnerships to end energy poverty and accelerate green economic opportunity. Founded in 2021 by The Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund, we work to unlock finance, strengthen institutions and transform markets, delivering progress that goes beyond individual projects to drive lasting systems change. Through our two interconnected global pillars, Grids of the Future — focused on innovation and infrastructure — and Powering Opportunity — with a focus on jobs and livelihoods — we work toward our vision: a world where everyone has access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity and the means to use it to improve their lives. 

With work in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, our alliance aims to reach 1 billion people with clean electricity, prevent 4 billion tons of carbon emissions and create or improve 150 million jobs. For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org and follow us on X @EnergyAlliance.

Contact: media@energyalliance.org

About RELP

RELP is an impact-driven and independently funded non-profit organisation. Its mission is to accelerate the deployment of renewable generation in developing economies by directly supporting governments and power markets in designing and implementing stable regulatory frameworks, competitive procurement processes, and new financial and credit enhancement tools, including market- and programme-based guarantees. RELP focuses on implementation to facilitate bankability, foster competition, and boost the local and foreign investments needed to materialise clean power project installations, regional economic and social development, and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.