Jamaica<\/p>\n
This article was originally\u00a0posted<\/a>\u00a0on the author\u2019s blog with the support of\u00a0Climate Tracker<\/a>\u2019s Caribbean Energy Transition Journalism Fellowship, and an edited version is republished here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n The majority of Jamaica\u2019s energy has traditionally come from imported coal, petroleum and oil products. Combustible renewables and waste\u00a0\u2014<\/em>\u00a0used to form the cheaper, environmentally-friendly alternative, bio-gas\u00a0\u2014<\/em>\u00a0account for a\u00a0meagre percentage<\/a>\u00a0of the country\u2019s energy supply, while hydro, solar and wind power represent less than 11 percent.<\/p>\n The fact that these products are imported impacts both the country\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP) and the cost of electricity for consumers, many of whom are from low-income-earning households.\u00a0According to<\/a>\u00a0Global Petrol Prices, as of March 2022, Jamaica\u2019s electricity charges are the sixth highest (out of 148 countries) worldwide.<\/p>\n In early October, some of the world\u2019s most powerful oil producers\u00a0agreed<\/a>\u00a0to impose massive output cuts, reducing production by two million barrels per day in order to shore up falling oil prices\u00a0\u2014<\/em>\u00a0a major setback as the world struggles to recover from the effects of the\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0pandemic and the continued fallout from\u00a0Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n So how is\u00a0\u201cthe land of wood and water\u201d<\/a>\u00a0progressing with regard to switching from primarily non-renewable electricity, and what is being done to ensure Jamaica is on track with its ambitious target of increasing its renewable energy penetration (solar, wind and hydro) to 30 percent by 2030?<\/p>\n Despite having a tropical climate that enjoys the presence of northeast trade winds, Jamaica only has two\u00a0wind farms<\/a>, both underperforming, as they only provide electricity to a few surrounding communities. As of 2020, Jamaica\u2019s use of renewables\u00a0accounted for<\/a>\u00a0approximately 11 percent of its energy: 6.5 percent wind, 3.5 percent hydropower, and 1 percent solar power.<\/p>\n According to<\/a>\u00a0opposition spokesperson Phillip Paulwell, who is Jamaica\u2019s shadow minister on energy, the last public procurement for renewables was done in 2014, when the current renewable-related projects were established. While there has been progress in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, the footprint for renewables was only increased by 15 percent, way short of the government\u2019s objective. He called on the government to speed up procurement measures and publish a plan for the future of renewables as, although a feasibility study was done in 2015 for a World Bank-funded hydropower project, there has been no clear progress since.<\/p>\n This is not to say that there have not been other worthwhile initiatives. In 2018, 80 percent of the island\u2019s streetlights were switched to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ)\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0an initiative to provide low-income, off-grid communities with solar PV kits. The project goal was to provide up to 2,000 households in these communities with renewably generated electricity, but since its piloting, the initiative has not been used optimally.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns, who is the Shadow Minister on Land, Environment and Climate Change,\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0not enough is being done to advance water harvesting and\u00a0capitalise<\/a>\u00a0on other resources, like solar. She believes there need to be more alternatives to increase electricity provision and facilitate access to solar power by all Jamaicans, adding that removal of taxes on the initiative would be a great incentive.<\/p>\n Young people have, in many ways, been\u00a0leading the charge<\/a>\u00a0towards environmental awareness and energy sustainability in Jamaica.\u00a0Eleanor Terrelonge<\/a>, president of the non-governmental organisation (NGO)\u00a0Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council<\/a>\u00a0(JCCYC), has suggested that more competition in the area of power supply would help reduce costs to customers. Jamaica\u2019s\u00a0electricity provider<\/a>\u00a0currently enjoys a monopoly. Terrelonge\u00a0believes<\/a>\u00a0that unless the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) is forced to reduce costs, nothing will be done. She also finds that while Jamaica is attempting to diversify energy resources, it appears to be on an impromptu or project basis, instead of on a national level.<\/p>\n However, JPS, which is the only hydroelectricity plant operator in the country and the facilitator of two plants, has downplayed its role in Jamaica\u2019s efforts to realise its renewable energy goal of 30 percent by 2030. Its corporate communications officer, Audrey Williams,\u00a0reinforced<\/a>\u00a0that this responsibility\u00a0lies<\/a>\u00a0with the Government Procurement Entity (GPE), which takes the lead on the procurement of new electricity generation capacity. She added that the JPS will support the GPE\u2019s efforts and work with the\u00a0Integrated Resource Plan<\/a>\u00a0(IRP), which is a road map to sustain and enable Jamaica\u2019s electricity future.<\/p>\n In 2018, JPS constructed a 24MW hybrid energy storage facility, which has allowed the company to better manage the effects of fluctuating renewables and, over the past five years, has also invested USD 80 million in capital projects in order to manage costs and make the grid more resilient and efficient. Another challenge, however, is that some electric utilities have the benefit of government subsidies while others are not \u201cfully integrated,\u201d meaning they do not operate generation, as well as transmission and distribution services.<\/p>\n Williams\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0that if customers wish to switch to renewables, behaviour change is critical to make the savings secure. The concept of load shifting\u00a0\u2014<\/em>\u00a0transferring all energy-intensive activities to the daytime when energy is being generated\u00a0\u2014<\/em>\u00a0is one of the critical steps customers should take. Energy-efficient appliances and other methods of energy conservation can also make a big difference.<\/p>\n Another possibility is to\u00a0encourage<\/a>\u00a0more users to generate their own electricity using renewable methods, attach it to the JPS grid and sell it.<\/p>\n Jamaica is undoubtedly progressing towards its goal of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and heavy oil energy consumption, but the pace is slower than many would like. The call is, therefore, for the government to implement more mitigation strategies and use more of our tropical renewable resources, and for consumers to be encouraged to be more energy efficient and switch to renewables.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0that it is engaged in the process of developing the second iteration of Jamaica\u2019s IRP, which outlines plans for electricity price reduction and is due to be completed by the end of 2022.<\/p>\n