We explore the factors that affect the development of renewable energy in the Caribbean. The Caribbean region can serve as a laboratory in studying the institutional issues relating to energy development due to the differences in political jurisdictions over a short distance. Based on 12 case studies and 75 in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders, we identified five factors that appear to be critical for the development of renewable energy in the Caribbean: entrepreneurship attitudes, the role of local champions, the electric utility influence, informal institutions and the influence of international agencies. We built a multiple regression model to test these relationships through a survey of 34 political jurisdictions in the Caribbean. The statistical analysis we conducted suggests that informal institutions have a significant impact on the extent of renewable energy development, while the incumbent electricity utilities' influence may impede the development of renewable energy. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations on how best to make use of these factors identified, in order to develop effective energy policies throughout the Caribbean. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.