Global awareness and commitment, in regards to climate change, access to water and renewable energy deployment has risen in the last decade. However, many countries are still locked in unsustainable practices, specifically in regards to energy, this results in damaging consequences not just for the country but the world. Case in point of the Dominican Republic (DR), an island with an immense renewable energy potential, a growing economy and the financial aid of many international entities. Regardless of all this, "the business as usual" decision for the energy strategies is based on fossil foil. As a result, thousands of people are still without energy, the infrastructure itself is unreliable, and the cost of fossil fuel is 6-8% of the country's GDP. The country also suffers from blackouts, the expensive tariff and unstable energy grid. Therefore, this paper discusses and critically evaluates critical success factors (CSF) for implementing renewable energy strategies in the DR. For this purpose, an extensive literature review was done, along with 25 interviews with the key actors in the renewable energy market of the DR, that were analysed using content analysis and ISM method. These methods provided insight into 6 CSF. These CFS aid the stakeholder's in the creation and growth of the RE market in the DR. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.