Renewable Energy Should Benefit Productive Sector – Robinson

Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Julian Robinson, says the introduction of renewable energy as part of the energy mix, will provide noticeable benefits to the productive sector and by extension the consumers of goods and services.

“I think you’re going to see a reduction. For example, we have two new companies that are going to add about 80 MW to the grid with wind and solar, which will come in at a lower cost. When I look at the developments on the horizon, I am confident that in short order, we will have lower energy costs,” he told JIS News.

The State Minister was the keynote speaker at a workshop on: ‘Opportunities for Sustainable Energy Production in the Sugar Industry of Jamaica’, held in Kingston on January 30.

Mr. Robinson acknowledged that the cost of energy is a major hindrance to the productive sector, pointing out that sugar manufacturers have been impacted significantly.

He argued that the cost of sugar and sugar related products are expected to be reduced in 24 months as the cost of energy, one of the primary inputs in the production of the commodity, is set to go down.

Meanwhile, the State Minister said the workshop would surgically examine the strategies toward the implementation of techniques and technologies to make the industry grow. He noted that the problems hindering efficiency are well known, so too the solutions. It is the implementation that is proving to be the hurdle, he noted.

“Many of the issues have been raised in the past. Many of them require funding and resources to actually implement them. What we have to focus on is just getting it done,” he noted.

Mr. Robinson said that sugar being a base product in most foods, the reduction in its cost arising from a lower cost of producing the commodity, should benefit consumers.