From crisis to clean energy: Lessons from the Caribbean

When Hurricane Ivan devastated Grand Cayman in September 2004, it crippled the island’s electricity network, leaving virtually the entire population without power, with some areas waiting up to three months for service to return.

The storm, which passed Grand Cayman just 1 mph shy of Category 5 strength, caused an estimated US$3.4 billion in damage and exposed the vulnerability of an island dependent on a centralised electricity system. In 2004, there were few practical alternatives. Solar technology was costly, battery storage was limited and renewable electricity generation in Cayman was virtually non-existent.

Twenty-two years later, solar technology has advanced dramatically, yet Cayman generates just 4% of its electricity from renewable sources, with the remaining 96% coming overwhelmingly from imported fossil fuels. Despite a national target of 100% renewable electricity by 2045, many of the vulnerabilities Ivan exposed remain.

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, however, crises are accelerating a transition that decades of climate commitments and falling technology costs have struggled to deliver.

From hurricane-ravaged communities in Jamaica to an electricity-starved Cuba, solar power is increasingly shifting from a long-term environmental ambition to an immediate economic necessity, offering protection against natural disasters, fuel shortages and volatile energy prices.

For Professor Anthony Clayton, Professor of Caribbean Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, the troubling question is why governments so often wait for a crisis to act.

“Why did we have to leave it until we had a real crisis before we started to take these issues more seriously?” he asked.

“One of the problems that we quite often have in this region is that people simply don’t engage on an issue until it is a crisis.”

Cuba: A solar revolution driven by blackouts

In Cuba, where US restrictions on oil shipments and disrupted fuel supplies from Venezuela and Mexico have worsened chronic electricity shortages, prolonged blackouts have become a fact of daily life.

As the country struggles to keep the lights on, solar power increasingly means the difference between preserving food and watching it spoil, businesses staying open or closing, and remaining connected to the outside world or being plunged into darkness.

Across the island, households are installing small photovoltaic systems to power refrigerators, charge phones and operate essential appliances. Farmers are turning to solar panels and batteries to keep agricultural operations running as fuel shortages make conventional generators increasingly impractical.

For many Cubans, renewable energy is no longer principally about protecting the environment but about survival.

Marlon Riera Tabares, a Cuban who has lived in the Cayman Islands for eight years, recently installed solar panels on his sister’s home in Havana. He says the transformation taking place among ordinary Cubans is remarkable.

“Every family I know, friends or my own family, is in a way or another using some sort of solar-powered device or kit,” he said.

“It’s amazing how this is transforming people’s lives. Everyone knows about how many kilowatts are needed, batteries, converters, panel capacity. Every Cuban knows about it.”

According to Cuban government figures, the country has installed 144 solar parks with a combined generating capacity of 1,418 megawatts, while renewable sources now account for approximately one-fifth of national electricity generation. Yet widespread blackouts persist. Energy analysts warn that insufficient battery storage and ageing grid infrastructure limit the ability of the country’s expanding solar network to provide reliable electricity after sunset.

The rapid expansion has come despite significant difficulties securing financing, equipment and storage technology. Nevertheless, imports of solar equipment are surging. In the first seven months of 2026, US exports of solar panels and cells to Cuba reached US$6.3 million, a 1,070% increase over the value shipped throughout 2025, according to US Census data reported by Bloomberg.

China remains Cuba’s largest supplier of solar equipment and has also donated technology to support the country’s transition towards renewable energy.

For Riera Tabares, the changes illustrate both the ingenuity of Cuban households and the desperation driving them.

“Cuba is showing the world that even under decades of US sanctions, it’s possible to fight back through innovation and resilience,” he said.

Jamaica: Solar power became a matter of survival

Across the Caribbean, some of the most striking examples of solar adoption have emerged not from carefully planned energy transitions, but from communities struggling to survive after their electricity supplies collapsed.

In Jamaica, a devastating hurricane brought new urgency to an already expanding solar transition, accelerating efforts to reduce dependence on the national grid.

When Hurricane Melissa struck on 28 Oct. 2025, the Category 5 storm devastated communities across the western parishes, destroying electricity infrastructure and leaving approximately 540,000 customers, representing 70% of the utility’s customer base, without power.

For some communities, electricity remained unavailable for months.

In Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, resident Neville Green spent more than two months without grid electricity before deciding he could no longer depend entirely on the national utility.

“We were out of electricity, and when I saw the devastation, I knew JPS [Jamaica Public Service] would not be in my area any time soon,” he told The Energy Pioneer.

“I had some solar lights and solar fans that helped me through the nights, but it was still overwhelming.”

Elsewhere in St. Elizabeth, among Jamaica’s fishing communities, the consequences of losing electricity extended beyond the household.

Without refrigeration, fishers risked losing their catches and livelihoods. Without communications, coordinating recovery became increasingly difficult.

In February, the United Nations Development Programme announced an expansion of solar-powered community centres established in fishing villages affected by Melissa.

At Parottee and Galleon Beach, two solar-powered centres now serve approximately 300 fishers, providing free access to refrigeration, internet and charging facilities. Each installation has eight photovoltaic panels generating up to 5.6 kilowatts of electricity, supported by lithium battery storage to maintain power when sunlight is insufficient.

“Though modest in scale, these systems send a strong message: clean energy can support livelihoods, strengthen food security, and help communities recover stronger than before,” said UNDP Resident Representative Kishan Khoday.

“As climate change continues to intensify risks for Small Island Developing States like Jamaica, solutions such as these show what climate-smart recovery can look like in practice.”

James Ellsmoor, founder and CEO of Island Innovation, a global organisation working with island communities on sustainable development, said Jamaica’s experience demonstrates the practical value of decentralised renewable energy.

“After Hurricane Melissa, solar-powered community centres in Jamaican villages provided battery-backed power, freezers, internet and charging while the grid was still out,” he said.

“These kind of emergency centres can make a huge difference in a disaster scenario.”

Rich in sunshine but dependent on oil

Despite growing investment in solar power, the Caribbean remains overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels for electricity.

A study of 13 Caribbean countries by energy think tank Ember found that fossil fuels accounted for 90.9% of electricity generation in 2024, compared with just 9.1% from renewables, well below the global average of approximately 32%.

Although solar installations are expanding, their impact remains limited. Using Chinese export data, Ember estimated that 2,280 megawatts of solar capacity were installed across the countries studied between 2021 and 2024, nearly double the 1,269 megawatts officially recorded. Yet renewables’ share of electricity generation rose by less than two percentage points between 2018 and 2024, with fossil fuels meeting roughly two-thirds of increased demand.

That dependence is costly. Caribbean electricity prices average approximately US$0.25 per kilowatt-hour, more than double the US$0.10 median in emerging economies, while imported fuel exposes the region to global price shocks.

Meanwhile, energy research organisation RMI found that projected fuel-oil costs for island electricity systems had risen 33% in a year, even as solar-plus-storage costs fell approximately 46%. For a typical mid-sized island system, the higher projected fuel costs alone could add US$34 million annually.

Yet Ember argues that the biggest obstacles are no longer financial.

“Policies, not costs, are the main barrier to renewable deployment in the Caribbean,” said Wilmar Suárez, the organisation’s senior energy analyst for Latin America.

In some countries, utilities retain significant control over whether independent renewable energy producers can connect to the grid, potentially restricting competition and investment.

Ember called for stronger independent regulation, transparent procurement and measurable renewable energy targets backed by regular progress reviews. Of six countries with verifiable targets, none was on track to meet them, the report found.

Must disaster come first?

But if policy failures are holding back the Caribbean’s energy transition, does it take a disaster to overcome them?

Racquel Moses, chief executive officer of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, cautioned against drawing that conclusion.

“I wouldn’t necessarily agree that there is a pattern of Caribbean countries embracing solar energy only when forced by a crisis,” she said.

Governments, she explained, must balance competing priorities, including healthcare, education, housing and infrastructure, while responding to the economic and environmental consequences of climate change.

“The challenge is often not a lack of ambition but the ability to translate ambition into implementation while balancing these competing priorities,” she said.

Moses pointed to Barbados and the Dominican Republic as examples of countries that have advanced renewable energy development through sustained policy attention rather than simply responding to disasters.

Barbados established a solar water-heating industry over several decades, while the Dominican Republic has attracted private investment into larger-scale renewable electricity projects.

Both demonstrate the importance of consistent regulation, financing and market development.

Elsewhere, however, major disasters have clearly accelerated change.

Following Hurricane Maria in 2017, households and businesses in Puerto Rico increasingly invested in rooftop solar panels and battery storage as repeated electricity disruptions undermined confidence in the centralised grid.

For Ellsmoor, the shift demonstrates how prolonged failures in conventional electricity systems can push consumers to take energy security into their own hands.

“Puerto Rico shows how a crisis and an ineffective national response drives people to look for their own individual energy independence,” he said.

In Barbuda, where Hurricane Irma devastated infrastructure in 2017, the Green Barbuda project combined solar generation, battery storage and back-up power to strengthen electricity resilience.

These examples demonstrate that renewable energy can form part of rebuilding after disaster, rather than merely replacing damaged fossil-fuel infrastructure.

Cayman itself has contributed to such efforts.

Following Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in 2019, Cayman-based GreenTech Solar helped install solar panels and Tesla battery systems at temporary medical facilities in Grand Bahama.

The installations supplied lighting, air conditioning and electricity for basic medical equipment in communities where the conventional grid had been severely damaged.

But while Cayman has helped other Caribbean communities strengthen their energy resilience after devastating storms, questions remain about its own preparedness.

Cayman: An energy crisis without a hurricane

For Nicholas Robson, founder of the Cayman Institute and author of the Cayman Islands Energy Policy: Background Advisory Report, the threat to Cayman’s energy security is already here.

“We’re in the middle of a crisis,” he said. “National security is what it’s all about.”

Robson has been warning about the islands’ energy vulnerabilities for nearly two decades. In 2007, he presented research to Cabinet highlighting the risks of rising oil prices and subsequently prepared an energy policy white paper.

“I raised it in 2007, but you know, governments change and nothing happens,” he said.

His concerns go well beyond the threat of another major hurricane. Cayman’s dependence on imported petroleum leaves it exposed to international supply disruptions, geopolitical tensions and price shocks, while its electricity network supports essential services ranging from water production and communications to healthcare and tourism.

Clayton warned that the consequences of a prolonged power failure could extend far beyond electricity supply.

“Your water system is built on top of your energy system. So if your energy system goes down, your water system goes down too,” he said.

Robson also warned that prolonged electricity shortages could have serious implications for one of Cayman’s primary economic pillars.

“With no electricity, tourism is gone,” he said.

Ellsmoor raised similar concerns, warning that Cayman’s heavy reliance on imported oil leaves the islands vulnerable to disruptions that could affect everything from electricity supplies to the wider economy.

“Cayman is at long-term risk of an energy-security and affordability crisis,” he said.

He argued that the case for renewable energy extends beyond reducing emissions to strengthening economic resilience and protecting essential services.

Moses, however, stopped short of describing Cayman’s current position as a crisis, arguing that the risks are already sufficiently clear to warrant more urgent action.

“Rather than characterising Cayman as already being in crisis, I would say that the economic, environmental and energy security arguments for accelerating the transition are already overwhelming,” she said.

The challenge, she suggested, lies in creating the conditions for that transition to happen.

Moses said Cayman needs predictable investment conditions, appropriate arrangements between utilities and independent power producers, and infrastructure capable of accommodating substantially more renewable electricity.

The challenge, she argued, is translating the national energy policy into practical projects.

“Renewable energy needs to be understood not only as a climate commitment, but as an investment in long-term affordability, energy independence and competitiveness.”

She also suggested Cayman could use its financial services expertise to attract renewable energy investment, structure climate-finance projects and support energy development across the wider Caribbean.

The cost of waiting

For Clayton, the most important lesson from the Caribbean’s uneven renewable energy transition is that governments must begin treating energy security as a long-term national priority, rather than an issue that becomes urgent only when electricity supplies are threatened.

He pointed to countries such as Denmark, where sustained political commitment helped establish a long-term direction for energy policy despite changes in government.

Cayman, he suggested, needs a similar national consensus.

“The main thing is actually start to drive your energy policy forward, and make this a matter of national consensus,” he said.

The alternative is to continue responding to predictable vulnerabilities only when they become emergencies.

That approach has already proved costly elsewhere in the Caribbean.

In Puerto Rico, hurricanes exposed the fragility of an ageing electricity system. In Jamaica, solar-powered community facilities became essential to recovering livelihoods. In Cuba, chronic fuel shortages have pushed households towards renewable electricity despite considerable financial and technological constraints.

Each experience reflects different circumstances, and none offers a simple blueprint for Cayman.

But together they illustrate how quickly renewable energy can shift from an environmental preference to an economic and practical necessity.

For Robson, the urgency is particularly acute because Cayman has already spent nearly two decades discussing the issue.

He believes the 2045 target remains achievable but argues that meaningful progress must begin much sooner.

“Given the timescale, yes, of course,” he said. “But we need something within a year. It can be done.”