Castalia Contributes to Regulatory Reform Discussion at CREF 2025

David Ehrhardt, Videsh Kissoon, and Ricardo Munroe

At the 2025 Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF), Castalia joined the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to present recent findings on regulatory frameworks and investment readiness in the renewable energy sector.

The session, Transformative Regulatory Reforms to Support Private Investment in Renewable Energy: Data Index, Findings and Key Priorities, included:

• A presentation of the Caribbean Project and Investment Database, which tracks clean energy projects and supports transparency, including a RE Project Pipeline of new and upcoming projects
• A review of results from the Readiness Index, developed by Castalia, in the context of the Minimum Regulatory Function (MRF) and IDB’s Infrascope Index
• Analysis of regulatory gaps based on the MRF framework
• Observations on recent regulatory developments and their implications for private investment

The tools presented at CREF build on work carried out over the past thirteen years. In 2012, Castalia developed the Renewable Energy Island Ranking, which compares progress across Caribbean countries by evaluating market conditions and investment outcomes. In 2014, Castalia designed the Caribbean Project and Investment Database to help project developers and investors access consistent, regional data.

In 2023, the MRF was launched by CDB under its Accelerated Sustainable Energy and Resilience Transition (ASERT) 2030 framework, with technical input from Castalia. The MRF outlines the basic regulatory functions needed to support investment in the electricity sector.

In 2024, Castalia conducted Rapid Regulatory Reviews of the electricity sectors in CDB Borrowing Member Countries. These reviews assessed how national regulatory systems aligned with the MRF and identified areas for potential improvement. The complete findings from the reviews are expected to be published by CDB in the coming weeks.

At CREF 2025, Castalia’s David Ehrhardt and Ricardo Munroe contributed to a regional conversation on how these tools can be used to improve regulatory clarity, benchmark progress, and support efforts to attract private investment in renewable energy. View the full presentation here.

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