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New Climate Change Programme Raises Concern – Mahlung

August 2, 2016 Webmaster

A new proposal expected to reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface has raised concerns among policymakers.

They indicate it could provide an incentive for countries not to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Solar Radiation Management proposal is currently being discussed among several stakeholders with the aim of addressing some of the risks associated with climate change. It is expected to inject sulphate particles into the earth’s stratosphere, which will reduce the amount of solar radiation and add a cooling effect with respect to the earth’s temperatures.

Following the Conference of the Parties, which was held in France last year, several countries committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in a bid to curtail global temperatures. Clifford Mahlung, project administrator at the Climate Change Division in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, said while he welcomes any initiative to mitigate against the effects of climate change, it is critical that any such project takes into account the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“It wouldn’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it would have a cooling effect on the earth’s temperature. It’s a new science initiative. It hasn’t been tried anywhere else in the world, but there are some conclusions that it has very good potential …” he said.

“The big concern for me, though, being from a small island which suffers greatly from the negative impact of climate change, is that it could also provide an incentive for countries not to reduce their greenhouse emissions. Instead, they would rely on this technology, which would be defeating the whole purpose to combating climate change. It could give people a false sense of hope,” Mahlung told The Gleaner.

“Also, you are not sure how long those sulphates will remain in the atmosphere and, if, over time, it will not have a reverse effect. There’s a concern with respect to what is known as acid rain, which is a mixture of ordinary rainfall and sulphur dioxide which can be harmful to trees,” he added.

However, he said that once the project is properly thought through, it could produce positive results.

Gleaner

Government JPS News Oil

OUR-Approved JPS Rate Hike Hits Home August

July 7, 2016 Webmaster

Winsome Callum: Company officials had only just received the determination notice and were going through it.

Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) customers will see an increase in their August electricity bills as a result of the average 2.6 per cent rate increase the Office of Utilities Regulation yesterday (OUR) announced it had granted the energy company.

Rate-10 customers (small residential) will see on average a 2.4-per-cent increase, the same as Rate-20 (small commercial) customers.

For Rate-40 customers (medium commercial/industrial), the increase is 2.9 per cent, and 3.2 per cent for Rate 50 (large commercial/industrial) customers.

This means that a Rate-10 customer using 349 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month for which he or she paid $9,583.48 before April, is likely to see that bill going up by about $231.90 to $9,815.38, reflecting a 2.42 per cent increase.

Contacted for comment, Winsome Callum, director of corporate communications at the JPS, advised that company officials had only “just” received the determination notice and were going through it and so could not comment in detail on the matter.

This first rate increase granted by the OUR in more than three years comes on the heels of a 12.8 per cent increase in electricity charges announced by the JPS less than a month ago, on June 13, and which it linked to the tax package announced by Finance Minister Audley Shaw in his Budget presentation on May 12.

The JPS justified the rate hike at the time to the following combination of factors:

• An increase in the cost of the fuel used for electricity generation because of rising oil prices on the international market;

• The impact of the recent increase in the special consumption tax charged on heavy fuel oil;

• Continued devaluation of the Jamaican dollar.

In its release, the OUR explained that in arriving at its decision, it had taken the following factors into consideration:

a) A 9.53 per cent increase in the non-fuel revenue cap over the starting cap of 2014;

b) The full pass-through of system losses in the fuel rate as is now required by the new electricity licence;

c) The introduction of a revised incentive scheme for system-loss reduction, and based upon non-fuel revenues rather than fuel revenues, in keeping with the terms of the new licence;

d) A 50 per cent reduction in the Electricity Efficiency Improvement Fund (EEIF) tariff contribution;

e) The adjustment of rates to be charged for prepaid residential customers; and,

f) The adjustment of rates to be charged to some customers who will benefit under the Community Renewal Programme.

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com

The Gleaner

Energy Saving Government News Renewable Energy

Energy-Efficiency Strategy Coming For The Caribbean

June 24, 2016 Webmaster

Devon Gardner

THE CARIBBEAN is, within the next two or so years, to have an energy efficiency strategy that should serve the growth agenda of various islands.

To begin the work, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has secured the support of the European Union (EU).

“The EU will send a team in to work with us to identify the elements of the framework for the strategy. Having identified that framework, we will utilise a Technical Cooperation Facility (TCF) that we have with the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) as well as support that we are already getting from the GIZ to do what I refer to as investment grade analysis to identify the energy efficiency options in the various sectors across countries in the CARICOM states,” said Dr Devon Gardner, programme manager for energy with the CARICOM secretariat.

He was speaking to the Gleaner at the energy and sustainable development forum hosted by the University of the West Indies in Kingston on Tuesday.

According to Gardner, the strategy – to be developed in line with CARICOM’s five-year strategic plan for 2015 through 2019 will take account of key productive sectors (tourism, agriculture, services and the public sector) together with the electricity and transport sectors.

MANY DELIVERABLES

In the end, he said it should deliver on:

• an energy efficient building code for the region;

• energy performance standards for certain types of appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and lights (LED and CFLs);

• energy labelling standards for appliances that provide consumers with information and operating cost of the various devices; and

• performance standards for a number of renewable energy devices, including solar water heaters.

“What are doing is not just to understand the amount of energy savings potential, but critically it is to understand the value of the energy savings to the economy and the investment package required to pursue those opportunities if we desire,” Gardner noted.

News of the regional energy efficiency strategy comes at a time when CARICOM countries are collectively using some 13,000 Btu of energy to produce one US dollar of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 4,000 Btu of energy used by Japan, for example, to produce the same one US dollar of GDP and the global average of 10,000 Btu.

This is according to Gardner who said that “the region is perhaps the most inefficient in the world as regards energy efficiency.”

pwr.gleaner@gmail.com

The Gleaner

Electricity Energy Saving Government News Renewable Energy

Energy-Efficiency Strategy Coming For The Caribbean

June 24, 2016 Webmaster

Devon Gardner

THE CARIBBEAN is, within the next two or so years, to have an energy efficiency strategy that should serve the growth agenda of various islands.

To begin the work, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has secured the support of the European Union (EU).

“The EU will send a team in to work with us to identify the elements of the framework for the strategy. Having identified that framework, we will utilise a Technical Cooperation Facility (TCF) that we have with the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) as well as support that we are already getting from the GIZ to do what I refer to as investment grade analysis to identify the energy efficiency options in the various sectors across countries in the CARICOM states,” said Dr Devon Gardner, programme manager for energy with the CARICOM secretariat.

He was speaking to the Gleaner at the energy and sustainable development forum hosted by the University of the West Indies in Kingston on Tuesday.

According to Gardner, the strategy – to be developed in line with CARICOM’s five-year strategic plan for 2015 through 2019 will take account of key productive sectors (tourism, agriculture, services and the public sector) together with the electricity and transport sectors.

MANY DELIVERABLES

In the end, he said it should deliver on:

• an energy efficient building code for the region;

• energy performance standards for certain types of appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and lights (LED and CFLs);

• energy labelling standards for appliances that provide consumers with information and operating cost of the various devices; and

• performance standards for a number of renewable energy devices, including solar water heaters.

“What are doing is not just to understand the amount of energy savings potential, but critically it is to understand the value of the energy savings to the economy and the investment package required to pursue those opportunities if we desire,” Gardner noted.

News of the regional energy efficiency strategy comes at a time when CARICOM countries are collectively using some 13,000 Btu of energy to produce one US dollar of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 4,000 Btu of energy used by Japan, for example, to produce the same one US dollar of GDP and the global average of 10,000 Btu.

This is according to Gardner who said that “the region is perhaps the most inefficient in the world as regards energy efficiency.”

pwr.gleaner@gmail.com

The Gleaner

Confrence Crude Oil Electricity Government JPS LNG News Oil

Tax Changes For Heavy Fuel Oil Had Minimal Impact On Electricity Bill Increase – Shaw

June 17, 2016 Webmaster

Shaw File

Reacting to concerns that the raising of taxes on fuel has resulted in the spike in electricity bills consumers will face this month, Finance Minister Audley Shaw is arguing that the increase in special consumption tax (SCT) on heavy fuel oil (HFO) is only a nominal percentage of the rate increase the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) announced last week.

In response to questions from The Gleaner, the minister said that of the 12.8 per cent increase the JPS intends to apply, the increase in the SCT on HFO “translates to a mere 2.3 percentage points” or 18 per cent.

“As estimated in the tax measures, the effect of the increase in the overall SCT (specific and ad valorem) on HFO and LNG is approximately J$1.35 billion (or approximately US$11 million) in fuel costs to JPS. This would then approximate to a cost of US0.36 cents per kWh,” the minister said.

“Given the US two-cent-per kWh increase by JPS to consumers and the impact of the increased SCT of US0.36 cents per kwH to JPS costs, the percentage contribution of the tax to the pending JPS electricity bill increase would be 18 per cent. Therefore, the increase in SCT on HFO translates to a mere 2.3 percentage points of the 12.8 per cent electricity bill increase.”

Additionally, Shaw said he at no point stated that the increase would not affect the rates of the JPS as no one specifically asked him about the SCT on HFO.

“With reference to the comments by the minister of finance and the public service at the post-Budget press conference, it should be noted that the minister spoke to a question posed on the impact of the J$7.0 increase in SCT on fuel used for the purposes of ground transportation,” the statement read.

“The minister’s comments were not geared towards the impact of LNG or HFO on electricity prices. There were no questions posed about the effect of the increase in the overall SCT (specific and ad-valorem) of HFO.”

The increase in SCT on HFO that was announced during Shaw’s May 12 Budget presentation was one of three reasons Jamaica’s only power distribution company attributed to this month’s increase.

During his post-Budget press conference on May 13, Shaw, in responding to concerns that the new tax measures would affect light bills, said: “The argument also is that JPS light bills will go up as a result. And I want to remind everyone that this tax (on fuel) does not apply to Jamaica Public Service at all. It is only related to SCT for fuel for road transport only.”

anastasia.cunningham@gleanerjm.com

The Gleaner

Climate Climate Change Environment Government News

Environment Actors Unmoved By Govt’s First 100 Days

June 16, 2016 Webmaster

Diana McCaulay: “It is time we simply admit that we don’t have an environment regulator.”

FROM permit breaches at the Blue Diamond Royalton Hotel in Negril to the continued indecision over the Cockpit Country, environment sector actors appear largely unimpressed with the new Government after 100 days in office.

Still, at least some of them are prepared to give the new administration the benefit of the doubt as they look to the next 100 days and beyond.

“It’s difficult to assess as so little has happened on the ground, beyond the usual rhetoric. I believe that both Royalton hotels [in Negril and Coopers Pen], which were in repeated breach of their environmental permits, have been or will be regularised. If this is true, then that tells us all we need to know about the new government’s approach to the environment: a continuation of the reckless willingness to sacrifice it, regardless of words of commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection,” said Diana McCaulay, chief executive officer for the Jamaica Environment Trust.

Recent media reports are that the team investigating the collapse at the hotel’s Negril site had recommended the lifting of the stop order on buildings not affected by the incident, which left five people injured..

At the same time, developers have reportedly been asked to address a number of issues before the work can restart on the collapsed section of the project.

“If the Government is not going to insist its own environmental laws are adhered to, we effectively have no regulatory framework for our natural resources. I was also disturbed to read a comment attributed to Minister Mike Henry that the process for determining Cockpit Country boundaries is to begin. It was completed long ago,” she added.

Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency boss Hugh Dixon said he has not heard anything “that the Government has done differently from its predecessor”, such that the next 100 days will be critical.

“I would really want to be able to say I am giving them the benefit of the doubt to come up with a conscientious raft of actions that augur well for the environment and the economic growth activity that is to come on stream because there is no way they could be looking at a growth agenda that does not have at its nexus the environment and sustainable environmental management,” he said.

“If in the next 100 days the Government does not come forward with a raft of policy frameworks that illustrate its commitment to sustainable development and growth, then I would say that it would have been failing in its attempt to move its agenda forward,” Dixon added.

Dr. David Smith, coordinator for the Institute for Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, was of a similar mind on the importance of the coming months.

“I look at the first 100 days as them sort of finding their feet. But definitely we want to see now being addressed the broadening of the energy sector and reducing as much carbon emissions as is practical and looking very seriously at water because that is going to be one of the major problems over the next five years and beyond because of climate change,” he said.

Information Necessary

It will be important, too, Smith said, that players in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation be informed by their upcoming meeting with respected Professor Jeffrey Sachs.

“Professor Jeffrey Sachs will be in the country on Tuesday. He will have a meeting with the prime minister (PM) and Cabinet. It will give the PM and the two ministers in the job creation and growth ministry a chance to talk to someone who is a world leader in economic thought and adviser to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on sustainable development,” Smith said.

“Having him come to Jamaica and work with the PM and the other ministers will be very useful to get them to at least hear some of the newer ideas and talk about some of the sustainable development goals and how Jamaica can achieve them,” he added.

Independent blogger and social commentator Emma Lewis said: “I liked the talk of reducing plastic pollution. I think that is excellent but now needs to be translated into action. It is very good that we have signed some agreements on climate change adaptation and disaster preparedness … and hope that they will lead to some good work.

“I would also like to see the Government engage directly with stakeholders in communities that are concerned and already being impacted by environmental issues of various kinds like the residents of Cockpit Country [and] of Negril … . I would like to see a lot of that happening from now on,” Lewis added.

pwr.gleaner@gmail.com

The Gleaner

Alternative Energy Biodiesel Crude Oil Electricity Government JPS LNG News

LNG Shipper Under Financial Pressure

June 3, 2016 Webmaster

Golar LNG, the company which secured a two-year contract to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Jamaica, posted huge net losses, has a working capital deficit and its chief executive officer resigned last month.

The shipping company continues to suffer from a slowdown of the LNG industry during a global oil price drop, symptomised by almost US$700 million of negative working capital.

The Jamaica contract is a bright spot for the company amid declining revenue.

“Partially mitigating the loss of this income was revenue earned by the Golar Arctic which commenced its two-year FSU service with New Fortress Energy, offshore Jamaica,” said Golar in financial results issued this week.

Golar also aims to refinance debt and launch new growth initiatives to adapt to the soft global LNG market.

New Fortress, an American company, is contracted by Jamaica Public Service Company to supply LNG to its Bogue plant. The pipeline and terminal have been developed but delivery of the gas, which should have started in April, has been pushed back to August.

On Wednesday, New Fortress promised responses on the implications of Golar’s finances for its contract, but had not followed through up to press time.

Golar reported net losses of US$80 million for its first quarter ending March. The loss was mainly due to its US$61.5 million in operating expenses towering over its US$18.6 million in revenues for the period.

Adjusted for exceptional items, losses would only have amounted to US$41.2 million.

Fundamentally, its revenue gap has defined the accounts since at least 2014. Consequently, Golar posted a US$197.6-million net loss for financial year 2015 and US$43 million in net losses for 2014.

Last month, CEO Gary Smith resigned and its former CEO, Oscar Spieler, retook control of the company. Golar cited restructuring as a necessary move to adapt to the new LNG reality, and the reason for the resignation.

Spieler, a naval architect, previously served as CEO of Golar between July 2009 and June 2011. He has a “successful track record of delivering complex offshore and shipping-related projects,” stated the financials. A release from the company indicated that both men previously traded the CEO position. Smith, who was promoted to CEO in January 2015, previously served as Golar CEO between March 2006 and July 2009.

Amid these changes, the company’s current assets

of US$530 million were overpowered by current liabilities of US$1.23 billion as at March 2016, resulting in negative working capital of US$670 million.

Burning through cash

Additionally, Golar has been burning though its cash holdings, which dropped from US$376 million to US$93 million in the space of one year.

The company still holds a strong US$1.8 billion in equity, but it fell from US$2.2 billion a year earlier.

Golar explained that the fast-growing LNG industry is going through a “rapid transformation” where monetisation of stranded gas, lowering the cost of LNG production and the opening of new markets are all critical success factors.

“An anticipated delinking of LNG prices from oil prices will also create additional demand for LNG. The traditional approach to executing LNG projects favoured by many oil majors may not cost effectively meet this new demand,” the company said.

Natural gas prices are reportedly at seven-year lows. The commodity is currently trading around US$2.40 per 1,000 cubic feet in the US.

At the same time, however, oil continues to trade below US$50 per barrel, which is still less than half the price crude was trading at two years ago.

The Gleaner

Alternative Energy Climate Change Electricity Energy Saving Environment Government Jobs News Solar Energy

Honey Bun’s solar energy system a positive move for growth – Industry Minister

May 28, 2016 Webmaster

KINGSTON, Jamaica –The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, & Fisheries (MICAF) has described Honey Bun’s newly-installed solar-energy system as a positive development for growth, job creation, and competitiveness.

Speaking on behalf of Minister Karl Samuda on Friday, at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the system at Retirement Road, Kingston, Director General in the ministry, Vivian Brown, noted that the first phase of the project, with an investment of US$250,000, has already yielded a 14 per cent decrease in the company’s electricity bill.

He pointed out that lower energy prices using solar energy will not only lower the costs of individual manufacturing operations, “but taken on a wider scale, will also reduce expenses for consumers and businesses, while increasing disposable income that can be spent in other ways”.

Brown stated that the high cost of energy has for a long time been placing a strain on the Jamaican economy, and encouraged other Jamaican manufacturers to use solar energy to reduce their costs.

He noted that more Jamaican manufacturers and householders are moving towards the use of solar energy, and that this is not just a Jamaican trend. Globally, he said, there is growing awareness that increased deployment of renewable energy is critical, not just for addressing climate change, but also for creating new economic opportunities.

“As a large user of electricity, Honey Bun has seen solar power as an effective solution to reduce costs, and I believe the steps that you are taking now will position you for a much brighter future,” Brown said.

The Observer

Alternative Energy Climate Change Government News

UN Ready To Help Region Secure Clean Energy

May 24, 2016 Webmaster

Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Energy for All Rachel Kyte has said her organisation is ready to partner with Caribbean governments and institutions to secure a clean, affordable and reliable energy future.

She was delivering the William G. Demas Memorial Lecture at the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) 46th annual Board of Governors Meeting at the Iberostar Resort in Lilliput, St James, on Tuesday.

Sustainable Energy for All is the brainchild of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Its main objectives are ensuring universal access to modern energy services and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and the share of renewables in the global energy mix.

Kyte said that energy demand is not only the dominant contributor to climate change, but is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today.

She noted that there are 1.1 billion people around the world who still have little or no access to energy, and three billion who rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating.

DESERVE ACCESS

“We the peoples of the UN want a planet and a future that’s not ravaged by climate change. We the peoples deserve access to affordable, clean and reliable energy and we the peoples know that the time for action is now,” she said.

Kyte noted that the impacts of climate change are being felt all around the world, particularly in the Caribbean. She added that rainfall patterns are changing, which have caused a number of islands to experience prolonged dry seasons and severely low reservoir levels.

“This severely impacts the ability of island nations to grow local crops,” she pointed out, citing loss of an estimated 2,190 hectares of crops valued at millions of dollars in Jamaica due to drought.

Kyte pointed out that the CDB has an essential role to play in providing financing for sustainable energy projects.

The Gleaner

Alternative Energy Climate Climate Change Electricity Energy Saving Environment Government News Solar Energy

UN Ready To Help Region Secure Clean Energy

May 22, 2016 Webmaster

Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Energy for All Rachel Kyte has said her organisation is ready to partner with Caribbean governments and institutions to secure a clean, affordable and reliable energy future.

She was delivering the William G. Demas Memorial Lecture at the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) 46th annual Board of Governors Meeting at the Iberostar Resort in Lilliput, St James, on Tuesday.

Sustainable Energy for All is the brainchild of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Its main objectives are ensuring universal access to modern energy services and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and the share of renewables in the global energy mix.

Kyte said that energy demand is not only the dominant contributor to climate change, but is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today.

She noted that there are 1.1 billion people around the world who still have little or no access to energy, and three billion who rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating.

DESERVE ACCESS

“We the peoples of the UN want a planet and a future that’s not ravaged by climate change. We the peoples deserve access to affordable, clean and reliable energy and we the peoples know that the time for action is now,” she said.

Kyte noted that the impacts of climate change are being felt all around the world, particularly in the Caribbean. She added that rainfall patterns are changing, which have caused a number of islands to experience prolonged dry seasons and severely low reservoir levels.

“This severely impacts the ability of island nations to grow local crops,” she pointed out, citing loss of an estimated 2,190 hectares of crops valued at millions of dollars in Jamaica due to drought.

Kyte pointed out that the CDB has an essential role to play in providing financing for sustainable energy projects.

The Gleaner