Renewable Energy Best Practices in Promotion and Use for Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper aims to present a snapshot of some of the best practices in the promotion and use of renewable energy, and provide practical examples of the development of renewable energy markets that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean can replicate. This brief study provides an overview of some of the most widely used renewable energy technologies. It also examines current and potential renewable energy markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, economic development benefits of expanding renewable energy markets, policy tools and mechanisms that have been used to build and promote renewable energy in the United States, and the role governments and the private sector can play. This paper was presented at the Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank and Compete Caribbean Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 5-7, 2011.