Governments, multilateral organizations and businesses come together to advance regional integration and finance a more secure and affordable energy supply.La XI Semana de la Energía de la Organización
The 11th Energy Week of the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE) opened on Tuesday in Santo Domingo to address how to ensure a reliable and affordable energy supply, expand infrastructure and finance the region’s energy transition.
Organized by OLACDE and the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), the event runs through October 9, bringing together officials and representatives from its 27 member countries, international organizations, businesses, academia and youth.
During the opening ceremony, Minister of Energy and Mines Joel Santos said that energy challenges require a coordinated response to turn Latin America and the Caribbean’s resources into development and well-being.
“We need greater integration, more investment, more innovation and stronger regional energy cooperation,” Santos said. He noted that, while each country will pursue its own transition according to its resources and circumstances, the region can share knowledge, technologies, infrastructure and experience to build more secure and resilient systems.
The minister highlighted that the Dominican Republic increased its installed capacity from 4,921 megawatts in 2020 to 7,120 megawatts in 2025, while solar and wind capacity quadrupled to exceed 2,000 megawatts.
He added that the country aims to reach approximately 2,800 megawatts of renewable energy capacity and at least 800 megawatts of energy storage capacity by 2028. These initiatives will be complemented by firm power generation projects to meet growing demand and strengthen the reliability of the electricity system.
For his part, OLACDE Executive Secretary Andrés Rebolledo emphasized that the goal is interconnectivity rather than uniformity, requiring investment and infrastructure. He called for progress toward a regional framework that enables energy cooperation, establishes clear rules and endures over time. From OLACDE’s perspective, integration is taking on a new dimension as a tool for security and resilience. The challenge is to build an energy transition that strengthens energy security. This requires a broader approach to thinking about the region’s networks while keeping the ultimate purpose in focus: development, competitiveness and, above all, better living conditions for its people.
With the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and GET.transform as co-organizers, the agenda covers electricity and gas integration, financing, energy storage, methane emissions mitigation and energy poverty.
The program also includes the 56th Meeting of Energy Ministers, dialogue between governments and businesses, the 2026 OLACDE Energy Excellence Award, and sessions on regional integration featuring representatives from multilateral organizations and the business sector.
