News Archives - Page 42 of 134

JPS Moves Closer To Cheaper Electricity

August 10, 2015 Webmaster

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has signed an agreement for the long-awaited supply of gas to the island.

The company has announced that it has signed a deal with the United States (US)-based New Fortress Energy for the supply of gas to Jamaica, after receiving approvals from the Government and the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

Under the agreement, New Fortress Energy will provide the JPS with liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its 120-megawatt power plant in Bogue, St James.

The plant, which was first commissioned into service in 2003, is being converted to run on gas instead of the more expensive automotive diesel oil.

“This is a historic moment for JPS and for Jamaica,” said Kelly Tomblin, president and CEO of the JPS.

“JPS has worked since 2012 to procure gas as part our fuel diversification strategy. We are fortunate that we can now take advantage of technology related to gas shipments and supportive US policies that allow the export of gas to non-FTA countries.

“Just today (Friday), Fortress received its permit from the US Government to export gas to Jamaica. JPS is honoured to be leading this game-changer for the energy sector,” said Tomblin.

Support National Goals

The JPS CEO said the introduction of gas will support the national goals of energy security, sustainability and affordability.

“The move to cleaner fuels and more flexible generation will reduce our environmental footprint by allowing Jamaica to optimise our use of renewables while we simultaneously reduce emissions from our baseload generation,” said Tomblin.

According to Tomblin, the JPS has been working closely with the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team, which was set up by the Government to oversee the upgrade and expansion of Jamaica’s energy sector.

The signing of the gas supply agreement has set the stage for work to begin on the infrastructure needed for the delivery of gas to Bogue by early 2016.

Wes Edens, founder and co-chairman of the board of Fortress Investment Group, declared New Fortress Energy’s commitment to investing and creating value in Jamaica.

“This agreement opens the door to a new era of energy diversity and independence for Jamaica and its citizens, enabling the region to benefit from cost-effective, stable supplies of US natural gas.

“Our vision extends far beyond Bogue. This will be the catalyst to establish Jamaica as an energy hub for the Caribbean and Latin America. Jamaica is the ideal location to execute on this vision, and we intend to invest significantly in energy, port and logistics infrastructure on the island. Change takes vision and we applaud JPS, its leadership, and the Government of Jamaica for working tirelessly towards this moment.”

The Gleaner

Alternative Energy Government News

The US Installed More Than Twice As Much Solar and Wind As Fossil Fuel Electricity So Far In 2015

August 10, 2015 Webmaster

Throughout the entire first half of 2015, solar and wind energy accounted for 2,518 megawatts of new electricity generating capacity brought online in the US— some 65 percent of all new capacity added so far this year.

Coal accounted for a mere 3 MW during that time period, while natural gas accounted for 1,173 MW (there was no new oil). That’s less than half the amount of solar and wind energy added January to June. Wind alone, at 1,969 MW, was more than all fossil fuels combined.

Here are the full numbers from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest Energy Infrastructure Update:

“With Congress now debating whether to extend the federal tax incentives for renewable energy sources, it is reasonable to ask whether the American public has gotten a good return on these investments to date,” Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign, said in response to the update. “The latest FERC data confirms that the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’”

Despite the tangible economic and environmental benefits of their huge growth in recent years, the US solar and wind industries are still facing a looming threat due to uncertainty over federal tax incentives.

The Senate Finance Committee just approved a tax bill that would reinstate the wind production tax credit (PTC), which expired on January 1, 2014 after Senate Republicans basically killed it. ThinkProgress reports the renewed tax credit would be worth $10.5 billion over 10 years and would last through December 31, 2016.

Fossil fuels are estimated to receive $135 billion in federal subsidies over the next decade from the US government, so it’s understandable that investors are weary of the long-term prospects of wind and solar, which, despite on-again, off-again support from the federal government, still must fight for every bit of market share they can get.

The two renewable energy technologies combined still only represent less than eight percent of total installed capacity in the US, after all, compared to natural gas at 42.66 percent and coal still hanging on at 26.83 percent, per the FERC data.

Which is why environmentalists and wind energy supporters want Congress to go further by adopting a more long-term solution.

“Wind power is gaining strength but in the context of tax extenders, this Congress must extend the PTC and [the investment tax credit] for the longest possible time to avoid pushing American wind power off a cliff,” the American Wind Energy Association’s Jim Reilly told ThinkProgress.

The solar industry is expecting a surge in business as a variety of investment tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2016. Without any further action from Congress to promote the clean energy technologies of the future, however, the surge is guaranteed not to last.

DESMOG blog

Alternative Energy News

NIC to introduce solar power to pump irrigation water

August 5, 2015 Webmaster

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, through the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) is set to introduce the use of solar power to operate the pumping of water for irrigation.

Minister of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security Derrick Kellier says the move will commence shortly with the commissioning into operation of solar power to operate the pumping system at Ebony Park in Clarendon.

In September a $300 million irrigation project will be launched at Spring Plain/Ebony Park bringing the nearly 3,000-acre property at the agro-park into full production.

Kellier, who was speaking at the 63rd Annual Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in Clarendon on Saturday, August 1, said that if Jamaica is to increase its production and productivity and ensure its food security, irrigation systems needed to be significantly improved and expanded.

Noting that the total irrigable land in Jamaica is 187,814 hectares yet only 12,500 hectares or about seven per cent of that land is irrigated, Kellier outlined a number of strategies intended to optimise and expand the country’s irrigation systems.

The imperative to optimise and expand the country’s irrigation systems is not born solely from the scarcity of water, but from the imperative to increase productivity and Jamaica may very well reach the stage where fiscal incentives for investment in irrigation had to be provided, Kellier said.

The agriculture ministry was therefore preparing a comprehensive proposal to be discussed with the appropriate authority, he added.

“I believe we have no alternative since these droughts are the greatest threat to increased production,” said Kellier.

According to the ministry, in addition to various climate-smart and drought mitigation projects, over $5 billion has been spent over the past 10 years to install new irrigation systems to ensure sustainable agriculture and the reduction of dependence on rainfall.

Jamaica Observer

Alternative Energy News Solar Energy

OUR Returns To Market For Renewable Energy Investors

August 5, 2015 Webmaster

Two years after failing to find qualified bidders to deliver 37 megawatts of firm renewable energy capacity, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has returned to the market seek suitable investors.

However, this time around it is willing to take bids for electricity that is generated intermittently – such as when the sun is out or as the wind blows – rather than guaranteed power being made available to the grid.

Waste-to-energy projects, including the conversion of the Riverton dump into a fuel source for such a plant, was seen a means of providing firm capacity in the past.

But only one of the 28 bids that went after the requests for proposal to build 115MW of renewable capacity (of which 78MW would be energy only) was related to biomass.

Two of the proposals received then were wind projects and 25 were for solar energy.

In the end, Wigton and BMR Jamaica were chosen to build a combined 60MW of wind capacity and Content Solar Jamaica Limited was picked to develop a 20MW photovoltaic solar farm in Clarendon.

“None of the bids submitted in respect of firm capacity, made it through all the stages of the evaluation process to be accorded preferred bidder

status,” said a release from the regulator in 2013.

Bidders for the latest RFP will be evaluated on the same grounds as the last time – 20 per cent weighting will be given to experience, while ability to finance the project carriers a 35 per cent weighting across stage 1 evaluation scores.

Bidders have up until January 27, 2016 to submit their proposals, along with a US$8,000 ($940,000) non-refundable application fee. A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for August 28.

The regulator is aiming to evaluate bids; negotiate contracts between the power providers and Jamaican Public Service Company; and see the chosen bidder start construction of the new plant by July 2017 for a December 2018 commissioning date.

The OUR will give an additional year for firm capacity plants to be commissioned.

JPS currently supplies consumers from an installed system capacity of approximately 945.1MW, of which 300.6MW is provided by independent power providers.

In 2014, annual generation from renewable energy sources accounted for approximately six per cent of total system generation, with contributions of 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent from hydro and wind, respectively.

The Gleaner

Alternative Energy Government News Solar Energy

Obama’s clean power plan hailed as US’s strongest ever climate action

August 4, 2015 Webmaster

Hundreds of businesses including eBay, Nestlé and General Mills have issued their support for Barack Obama’s clean power plan, billed as the strongest action ever on climate change by a US president.

The rules, announced on Monday, are designed to cut emissions from power plants and have been strengthened in terms of the long-term ambition as originally proposed by the president last year, but slightly weakened in the short-term in a concession to states reliant on highly-polluting coal.

White House adviser Brian Deese said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules represented the “biggest step that any single president has made to curb the carbon pollution that is fuelling climate change”. The US is the world’s second biggest carbon emitter after China.

The rules are expected to trigger a “tsunami” of legal opposition from states and utilities who oppose the plans, which will significantly boost wind and solar power generation and force a switch away from coal power. Republican presidential hopefuls moved quickly to voice their opposition, saying they would be economically damaging.

But 365 businesses and investors wrote to 29 state governors to strongly support the rules, which they said would benefit the economy and create jobs.

Mindy Lubber, who is attending the launch ceremony of the rules on Monday and is the president of Ceres, a network of investors that organised the letter, said: “The clean power plan is the right measure at the right time. It’s a flexible, practical and economically sound blueprint to transition America toward a low-carbon future.”

Other signatories included Unilever, L’Oréal, Levi Strauss, Staples, renewable energy company SunEdison and Trillium Asset Management, which manages $2.2bn in assets. It is the largest group of businesses to support the rules so far.

The final rules propose a 32% cut in carbon emissions from power plants by 2030 on 2005 levels, up from the initial proposal of 30%. However states will only have to comply by 2022 rather than 2020 as originally proposed, and will be able submit their plans on meeting the targets by 2018 instead of 2017.

CO2 emissions from power plants fell 15% between 2005 and 2013, meaning the country is halfway to the target.

Monday’s version of the rules also gives an explicit boost to wind and solar power, angering the natural gas industry which will still be a large beneficiary of the switch from coal to gas-fired power plants, which produce much lower emissions.

America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a trade body, said it was “disappointed and discouraged” by the rules. The World Coal Association claimed the plan “will significantly increase the cost of electricity to American consumers.” The Solar Energy Industries Association, on the other hand, said the rules were “historic” and “critically needed”.

The new rules will give a “give a head start to wind and solar deployment”, according to a White House fact sheet. “Drive more aggressive investment in clean energy technologies than the proposed rule, resulting in 30% more renewable energy generation in 2030 and continuing to lower the costs of renewable energy,” it said.

Barack Obama, in a video address, emphasised the health benefits of reduced air pollution from coal plants, and a duty to future generations as reasons for the clean power rules.

“Power plants are the single biggest source of the harmful carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. But until now there have been no federal limits on the amount of that pollution those plants can dump into the air. Think about that,” he said.

Obama’s plan to bring in the rules to cut emissions from power plants – which account for a third of the US’s greenhouse gas emissions – date back to 2009 when the EPA declared carbon emissions a public danger, the first step towards regulating them.

The final rules are likely to be welcomed by the United Nations, which is hosting a climate summit in Paris at the end of the year to agree on a deal on post-2020 curbs on emissions, as well as financing to help poorer countries manage global warming. Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, issued a statement welcoming the regulations.

Andrew Steer, president and CEO of the Washington DC-based thinktank the World Resources Institute, said: “The clean power plan should reassure international partners that the US administration is determined to deliver the 26-28% emissions reductions promised for 2025.

“Our analysis suggests that this rule can be implemented without technical or financial impediment, and in a manner that is likely to promote more, not less, economic prosperity.”

Describing the rules as very important, Lord Stern, the author of an influential review of the economics of climate change, said: “It shows the determination of the world’s richest country to maintain better economic growth while also cutting greenhouse gas pollution. President Obama has recognised in particular the enormous damage caused by pollution from the burning of coal in power stations.”

Gina McCarthy, the EPA’s administrator, said she believed the agency was on strong legal grounds for defending the rules from the legal challenges they are almost certain to face.

“Over the next few days we will hear the same tired old plays from the old special interests playbook,” said McCarthy.

The Guardian

Alternative Energy Energy Saving News Solar Energy

Bill Clinton Helping Jamaica

July 30, 2015 Webmaster

FORMER United States President Bill Clinton’s Foundation is working with a Jamaican entity, Wigton Windfarm, to promote greater use of wind and solar energy here, as part of a wider effort to force down exorbitant energy costs in island nations.

The Climate Change Initiative (CCI) and its companion Rocky Mountain Institute-Carbon War Room (RMICWR) — both of which operate under the Foundation — believe that Jamaica could become more independent of the more costly traditional energy sources by reducing energy costs through renewable energy.

“This high cost puts stress on the Government by increasing the trade imbalance and discouraging foreign investment, as well as on individual households who have to pay high prices for the power they receive,” the CCI said in an article written exclusively for the Jamaica Observer and published on page 14 of today’s edition.

(See Bill Clinton Foundation pushing renewable energy for Jamaica) The CCI pointed to new initiatives in Jamaica which are addressing renewable energy transitions from a variety of angles, including the Wigton Windfarm which uses wind to generate electricity and which has recently expanded its energy capacity to 38.7 megawatts.

CCI also said it was working on innovative solar PV programmes in Jamaica. “Jamaica can significantly reduce energy costs by becoming more independent, which will benefit the country as a whole… These projects are a great first step in transitioning to sustainable energy systems, but more work can be done,” it said.

The Clinton Foundation suggested that there was a link between climate change and energy, and that the threats of rising sea levels, freak weather patterns, and dying ecosystems had become part of the daily conversation, yet the international response was yet to catch up.

But it praised island nations like Jamaica for having taken “admirable steps towards transitioning to renewable energy”. “Island nations like Jamaica will benefit economically if there is a systematic transition away from traditional sources of energy.

Because of their dependence on importing diesel and petroleum, these nations are susceptible to global market fluctuations and have to pay high premiums on transport of fuel. For instance, the price of energy for some island nations has reached almost 500 per cent the typical US average.

In Jamaica, 11.46 per cent of the country’s GDP is spent on energy. “Compared with non-island nations, whose energy expenditure only represents a small percentage of GDP, this high price causes a significant economic burden for the people of Jamaica and their families,” CCI said.

Jamaica Observer

Alternative Energy News Solar Energy

Access Financial Approved For $30m IDB Grant To Back Green Energy Loans

July 30, 2015 Webmaster

Access Financial Services was approved for a US$284,000 ($33 million) grant from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to finance its green microfinance -for-clean-and-efficient-energy project.

Access will also put up US$130,000 for the undertaking. The micro-lender aims to use the facility to offer financial products to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and low-income households that wish to acquire renewables or energy-saving technology.

The goal is to enable the targeted groups to achieve “better energy cost management for those MSMEs and increase disposable income of low income households”, according to project details published by the IDB on its website.

The multilateral lending agency approved the non-reimbursable technical co-operation grant last Thursday. Access CEO Marcus James was not reached for comment.

NationGrowth MicroFinance Limited beat Access to the punch. It already has a green energy loan facility available to small businesses for financing of up to $2 million and a five-year repayment period.

However, companies wishing to access this facility have to present at least two years audited financial statements, among other things. For individuals, a job letter and pay slips are taken to demonstrate ability to repay, but both business owners and householders have to put up collateral to access this loan, which NationGrowth advertises at an interest rate as low as eight per cent a year.

Still, the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) appears to currently dominate the domestic market for energy financing for SMEs in terms of the range of offerings listed on the Jamaica MSME finance online directory at findmsmefinancing.com.jm.

SME OFFERINGS

The government agency offers products ranging from grant funding of up to $200,000 available to SMEs for energy audits to debt financing of up to US$3 million through a PetroCaribe funding facility.

However, SMEs are more likely to access DBJ’s regular energy loan, which provides a maximum of $30 million in financing at single-digit rates and up to seven years to repay it. The government agency is willing to fund up to 90 per cent of projects for smaller businesses, while large firms have to put up closer to a third of the project cost.

The DBJ defines SMEs as companies with less than 50 employees and annual sales of $150 million or less.

For households, the DBJ lends up to $2 million, also at single-digit rates. It lists solar water heaters, photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, biodigesters, and energy-saving lighting systems among the items for purchase that it is willing to finance.

Jamaica Gleaner

Electricity JPS LNG News

General Electric To Retrofit Bogue Power Plant

June 26, 2015 Webmaster

Dr Vincent Lawrence, head of the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET), says the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) will conclude an agreement with General Electric for the retrofitting of its Bogue power plant in Montego Bay to be fired by liquefied natural gas.

Lawrence said the expected supply cost for LNG to the plant is US$14 per million BTUs, which is about half the US$27 unit cost to supply the plant with diesel, he added.

“We are very excited,” said Lawrence on Tuesday at his third press conference as chairman of ESET – a special body created to execute projects aimed at reforming Jamaica’s electricity market. “We are satisfied that the project is on target for the first quarter of 2016.”

His announcement puts to rest speculation that JPS was still considering a flirtation with propane as an interim fuel before moving to LNG.

The contract being finalised with General Electric is the second major announcement for the 115MW Bogue project, following last week’s disclosure in a market filing by JPS that it had hired Fortress Energy, another American company, to supply gas for the plant.

Last night, JPS said that General Electric would retrofit the plant for LNG, while Fortress would develop the regasification and storage facility. Fortress will also supply the gas.

JPS says the deal with General Electric is valued at US$15 million. However, the power utility was mum on the Fortress transaction, nor would it disclose the price at which Bogue would supply power to the grid under the partnership.

Previously, the company had floated US$80 million as an indicative cost for the full project, but that was before it found partners for the jobs.

Lawrence also announced Tuesday that JPS has got 12 expressions of interest through its request for proposals in June for development of a 190MW plant in Old Harbour, St Catherine, each of which has been issued with material to prepare for bidding on the contract.

Proposals have come in from Jamaica’s state-owned refinery, Petrojam, Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, Clean Core and Fortress Energy. Clean Core was runner-up to Fortress Energy on the Bogue bids.

The plans for Old Harbour have grown more ambitious since the project was first mooted. Now ESET sees itself as the fulcrum for the development of a regional gas hub for the Caribbean that was first discussed in Jamaica during talks with US Energy Secretary Dr Ernest Moniz during President Barack Obama’s official visit in early April.

“Jamaica is trying to become the hub for gas distribution in the region. It is one of the things we are very interested in,” said Lawrence.

“In the request for proposals, we have requested that they provide a perspective on how Jamaica could serve the region. That is one of the things we will be assessing,” he said.

Discussions about such a hub flowed from a study done by Inter-American Development Bank on the regional demand for natural gas and the economics around consistent supply.

Bogue is being converted from automotive diesel oil to LNG. Lawrence said JPS had also looked at propane and ethane as fuel options, but finally decided to convert to LNG immediately.

“They have had meetings with General Electric and GE is on track to carry out conversion. The contract is to be signed early July,” said Lawrence.

The plant conversion will take 26 weeks, or just about six months, from the award of contract.

JPS confirmed the timeline of the first quarter of 2016 for the conversion to be completed.

Lawrence said Fortress will ship gas to the plant weekly from its Miami, Florida, facility to the port in Montego Bay.

For the pipeline to be built by Fortress from the port to the Bogue plant, the preliminary design, engineering, agreements with the Port Authority of Jamaica and authorisation from NEPA are being pursued, the ESET chairman said.

avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20150624/general-electric-retrofit-bogue-power-plant

Electricity Energy Saving Government Jobs JPS News

JPS Inks New Gas Deal With American Company, Fortress Energy

June 19, 2015 Webmaster

Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) has inked a deal with US-based New Fortress Energy to provide a long-term natural gas solution for its power plants, starting with Bogue.

However, the power supplier is not yet saying which gas it has selected as fuel and the price at which it will be supplied.

JPS itself has formerly floated the idea of propane initially and a future migration to natural gas.

The power utility has also not disclosed which entity will be responsible for retrofitting the plant at Bogue, which currently uses diesel fuel but has the infrastructure that allows it to transform to gas fuel.

As indicated to the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team last year, JPS is to convert the 115MW gas turbine plant at Bogue in Montego Bay from automotive diesel oil initially to propane by the fourth quarter of this year. The conversion, it projected, would result in an approximate 40 per cent fuel-price reduction.

The current plant consists of three individual units: two combustion turbine generating units with a total capacity of 80MW; and one 40MW steam-generating unit. The two combustion turbines operate on diesel fuel but are capable of converting to natural gas.

JPS said in a February update posted on its website that an independent engineer had been retained for the project and that construction was expected to begin by the second quarter of 2015 and that the plant should begin operating on gas fuel by the first quarter of 2016.

The company said this week that the gas-supply agreement with Fortress would pave the way for work to begin on the infrastructure needed for the delivery of gas to Bogue by early 2016.

The parties are firming up their agreement, which they expect to finalise by the end of this month.

Government Approval

Kelly Tomblin, JPS’ president and CEO, said that the company had received the final sign-off from the Government, through the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team, for the project.

“JPS understands the importance of gas to long-term sustainable energy prices and is proud to be able to finally bring gas to Jamaica,” she said in a company-issued statement.

JPS said New Fortress Energy was selected from a list of eight bidders who had responded to JPS’ request for proposals earlier this year.

Wesley Edens, founder and co-chairman of the board of Fortress Investment Group, said his company was quoted as saying that his company planned to “help make Jamaica an energy hub for the Caribbean and Latin America”.

New Fortress Energy is part of the Fortress Investment Group, a diversified global-asset firm with approximately US$70 billion of assets under management.

Investment vehicles managed by affiliates of Fortress own one of the largest crude oil terminals in the United States, as well as the first liquefaction facility in Florida, from which the gas will be supplied to Jamaica.

JPS has already submitted its proposal for Bogue to the Office of Utilities Regulation. The power utility previously telegraphed that the Bogue project may cost about US$80 million.

JPS senior vice-president for generation and project development John Kistle said in February that the converted installation was likely to include new pipelines and storage facilities constructed by fuel suppliers who would want to recover their costs. The new infrastructure is also likely to require new terminal facilities for off-take and supply of gas.

Request for additional comment on the new Fortress partnership were unanswered up to press time.

Alternative Energy Electricity Energy Saving Jobs News Solar Energy

Parade Gardens social project gets $7-m DBJ support

June 19, 2015 Webmaster

A $21.5 million social intervention project, the ‘Empowering Parade Gardens, Kingston, Through Renewable Energy Skills Training’, has benefited from an input of approximately $7 million from the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ).

The DBJ and Jamaica’s Environmental Health Foundation (EHF) — the implementing agency — have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), under which the bank will make the contribution to the project aimed at empowering the downtown Kingston community, which includes volatile areas such as Southside and Tel-a-Viv in Kingston Central.

“The deal will ensure that the skill sets of 90 residents of Parade Gardens are developed by means of behavioural change workshops and certified skills training in renewable technologies, food preparation, as well as driving lessons to secure driver’s licences and employment opportunities,” EHF CEO Novlet Deans told the MoU signing ceremony on June 4.

She said that the project will also include outfitting the Parade Gardens Community Centre with a 10KW solar power system and LED lighting, along with 35 households in the community being outfitted with LED lighting.

The EHF was invited to implement the project by the Planning Institute of Jamica (PIOJ), which is the implementing agency for the government’s Community Renewal Programme.

Managing Director of the DBJ Milverton Reynolds said that the aim is to empower residents to improve their circumstances and contribute to the country’s development.

“We believe there is bound to be a positive developmental impact from this intervention. At the end of this one-year programme, the young people will have skills which will be certified by HEART Trust/NTA,” he said.

Reynolds also noted that with the new skills and certifications, residents of the community “will become socially responsible citizens, participating fully in the life of the country and contributing their fair share of the taxes that help to improve the roads, education and health care”.

Vice-president, Parade Gardens Community Centre, Shaka Payne, also welcomed the intervention and said that equipping the community centre with energy-efficient technologies will lower the energy bill by at least 70 per cent.

“This will also aid in keeping us off an overwhelming statistic of community centres across Jamaica that have closed down because of inability to pay utility bills and maintenance,” he said.

The project aims to build the community’s capacity for climate change mitigation, as well as complement climate change adaptation strategies and improve the residents’ employability.

The project will also provide certified skills training to 30 residents of the community, with specific focus on youth. Of the 30, 10 will be trained in renewable energy technologies, focusing on solar PV system installation, operation and maintenance; 10 in food preparation, levels 1 and 2 (an already established livelihood in the community); and 10 are to receive driving lessons toward securing a general driver’s licence, which is a prerequisite for many employment opportunities.

The renewable energy training will be done in collaboration with the Caribbean Maritime Institute, while the food preparation training will be conducted by HEART Trust/NTA. Additionally, behaviour change workshops and training sessions (non-certified) will be held with the wider community on renewable energy, energy efficiency, career development and entrepreneurship.

The project will facilitate the formulation of strategic partnerships with public and private sector agencies to ensure the success of the programme.

The organisations forming the Project Steering Committee are the Parade Gardens Community Development Committee (programme coordinators on this project), Caribbean Maritime Institute, Planning Institute of Jamaica, HEART Trust/NTA, Citizens Security & Justice Programme (CSJP), Social Development Commission and EHF.

Last year residents of Parade Gardens benefited from a new $39-million community centre, construction of which was spearheaded by Jamaica Social Investment Fund , with support from the European Union under its Poverty Reduction Programme.

The centre boasts a computer laboratory, designated classroom area, meeting room, kitchen, and sanitary facilities. The CSJP provided furniture costing $800,000.

1 … 40 41 42 43 44 … 134