The Caribbean Energy Chamber has been officially launched.

The new pan-Caribbean chamber is a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization governed by a 23 member founding Board for the first three years, with CEC members electing a new Board on an annual basis thereafter.

Membership will comprise companies and individuals from the Caribbean and around the globe.

In a statement, the Chamber says it was established for greater global recognition of the energy challenges faced by the Caribbean and to prioritize affordable net zero energy security for the region.

It is also in the process of onboarding members from across the Caribbean from all the various sectors and is encouragingwide application for membership, sincea significant part of the value of CEC is derived from the membership having a voice in defining what priorities should be addressed at a pan-Caribbean level by CEC.

Melanie Chen, the founding Chair, says “CEC will serve as a hub for uniting all energy stakeholders in the Caribbean, including those from both public and private sectors (demand and supply sides). We will be hosting workshops, round tables, and breakout sessions at conferences aimed at enabling actions to help the implementation of energy transition and security in the Caribbean.”

As part of its initial efforts, the Chamber will focus on key areas including energy efficiency and public awareness; technical capacity rollout – which includes an engineering pilot programme with Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago; grid modernization and promoting distributed generation; assisting to develop bankable projects and looking at a bundling approach on a national/ regional level versus project level.

The CEC is headquartered in Saint Lucia.