Caption: The Right Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation signing the Memorandum of Understanding.

Octopus Energy and Antigua and Barbuda partner to advance a cleaner, more affordable and resilient energy future

Octopus Energy and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda are joining forces to explore ways of making energy cheaper, cleaner and more secure for the people of Antigua and Barbuda.

Announced at the Global Citizen NOW: Impact Session during New York Climate Week, the partnership will look at how solar, batteries, EVs and smarter, flexible demand can work together to reduce the country’s reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels, lower energy costs and strengthen the resilience of the national electricity grid.

The initiative brings together the Government’s renewable energy ambitions and Octopus Energy’s experience in smart energy tech, including Virtual Power Plants (VPPs). VPPs connect technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels and home batteries, allowing them to operate collectively to support the electricity grid and potentially reduce costs for consumers.

Octopus Energy currently manages a large-scale VPP network connecting and optimising nearly 500,000 devices, with a combined capacity equivalent to approximately three nuclear power stations.

The partnership supports Antigua and Barbuda’s ambition to generate 86% of its electricity from renewable sources and ensure that all new cars sold are electric by 2030.*

For Antigua and Barbuda, the energy transition carries particular significance. Like many small island developing states, the country remains highly exposed to the effects of climate change while simultaneously depending heavily on imported fossil fuels. Expanding locally generated renewable energy therefore offers an opportunity to address both energy security and climate vulnerability.

The Right Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said:

“For Small Island Developing States such as Antigua and Barbuda, the transition to renewable energy is both an environmental imperative and an economic necessity. Our continued dependence on imported fossil fuels exposes our people and businesses to high and volatile energy costs, while climate change poses an existential threat to our development.

“This partnership with Octopus Energy gives us an opportunity to explore practical solutions that combine renewable energy, electric mobility, battery storage and smart technology to lower energy costs, strengthen the resilience of our electricity grid and reduce our dependence on imported fuels.

“Antigua and Barbuda has set an ambitious course towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. We welcome partnerships that bring innovation, investment and proven technology to help translate that ambition into measurable benefits for our citizens. Our objective is clear: to build a modern, resilient and increasingly renewable energy system that delivers cleaner and more affordable power while demonstrating that small island states can lead the global energy transition.

“The energy transition must ultimately improve the lives of our people. It must reduce our vulnerability, strengthen our energy independence and create a more competitive economy. That is the outcome Antigua and Barbuda will continue to pursue through partnerships of this kind.”

As an immediate first step under the partnership, Octopus Energy’s electric vehicle arm will assist with the provision of electric vehicles during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be hosted in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, from 1–4 November 2026.

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said:

“By partnering with Antigua and Barbuda, we’re exploring how clean power and technology can help address the unique energy challenges small islands face. Our goal is simple: people everywhere should benefit from the lower costs that renewables and smart tech offers. Together, we hope to build an implementable plan to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and build a more resilient energy system.”

Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Relations Officer at Global Citizen, said:

“Small Island Developing States should not have to choose between affordable energy and climate resilience. This partnership demonstrates the practical coalition needed to deliver both: government leadership, Octopus Energy’s technology and delivery expertise, and Global Citizen’s ability to convene partners and mobilize action.

“Beginning with electric mobility at CHOGM and building towards a smarter, locally powered energy system, Antigua and Barbuda can create a model with relevance far beyond its shores. Global Citizen is proud to have helped bring these partners together, and we will continue working to translate this agreement into tangible results for Antigua and Barbuda and other SIDS.”

This comes as Octopus Energy’s generation arm is expanding its global activity, with a growing focus on renewables investment, energy access and economic opportunity in emerging markets.

Through its Power Africa Initiative, it has ambitions to catalyse $450 million of clean energy investment in Africa. It is also building Sierra Leone’s first-ever wind farm on Sherbro Island – an island increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – bringing clean, reliable power to underserved homes and businesses, with Idris Elba’s Elba Hope Foundation.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Antigua and Barbuda, Octopus Energy Explore Ways to Cut Electricity Bills and Fuel Imports.