Jamaica Ahead Of Region In Renewable Energy

State Minister for Energy and Mining, Hon. Laurence Broderick, has said that Jamaica is advanced in the development of renewable energy, surpassing a number of Caribbean countries.

“We are very much ahead of the other islands,” he noted for example, that Trinidad and Tobago was just looking to develop a centre of excellence for renewable energy, while Jamaica already had such a facility.

“We have a very intensive programme going to develop renewable energy, not just solar…we have the wind farm, we have hydro,” Mr. Broderick said during a solar energy/Light Emitting Diode (LED) forum and demonstration, held on Thursday (June 17) at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) auditorium in Kingston.

Renewable energy is power that comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished.

The Ministry and the PCJ have a national target to increase Jamaica’s renewable energy use to 12.5 per cent by 2015, then up to 15 per cent by 2020, and 20 per cent by 2030. At present, the renewable energy supply level is five per cent.

According to Principal Director for the Policy Planning and Development Division of the Ministry, Mr. Oral Rainford, the forum was part of the Ministry’s efforts to promote the National Energy Policy of 2009, to make persons more aware of the availability of renewable energy technologies, and showcase ways in which these technologies can assist in lowering energy use and cost.

“In respect to the introduction of LED technology…to the public, we were also looking at energy efficiency and energy conservation, which is a major problem in this country,” he told JIS News.

Mr. Rainford pointed out that LEDs could assist in reducing lighting load of one’s energy bill by more than 50 per cent “and if you can reduce a significant part of your energy bill by 50 per cent, it means you are saving money.”

United States-based lighting and solar technology company GreenRg Management LLC, with assistance from local company Wiltech Energy Inc, demonstrated its products, which included LED indoor and outdoor fixtures, lighting controls, light bulbs with adjustable colour and wattage, and intelligent communication.