Customers of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) are to be repaid for a fuel overcharge by Petrojam this month.
The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR)
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell – file photo.
Jerome Reynolds, Gleaner Writer
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell has indicated that yesterday
1. Overview
1.1 PURPOSE
1.1a What is the purpose of the Net Billing Standard Offer Program?
The Net Billing Standard Offer Program is intended to support greater use of renewable sources of energy in
Jamaica. The program seeks to encourage electricity production by small intermittent sources of renewable
energy of 100kW or less, via a simple contract arrangement. These installations will require supplemental power
from the JPS and will on occasion have excess electricity, which can be sold to the utility – so long as the Gross
System Output does not exceed 10kW AC output for residential facilities, or 100kW for commercial facilities.
1.1b Who Initiated this Program?
The Government of Jamaica as part of its Energy Policy has proposed a number of initiatives to make investment
in electricity generation for the public grid from renewable sources, economically viable. The Government has set a
target where 15% of total generation should be provided from renewable energy sources by 2015. The
OUR, which is responsible for the addition of generating capacity to the grid, has reserved a block of capacity for
renewable sources, one portion of which should be in the category of 100kW or less.
read more…
http://www.myjpsco.com/_pdfs/
A hybrid renewable energy system utilizes two or more energy production methods, usually solar and wind power. The major advantage of solar / wind hybrid system is that when solar and wind power production are used together, the reliability of the system is enhanced. Additionally, the size of battery storage can be reduced slightly as there is less reliance on one method of power production. Often, when there is no sun, there is plenty of wind. In comparison to solar modules, wind turbines can offer a more favourable dollar per watt ratio.
You want to consider a hybrid system when you
The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) and the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) came out swinging over the past two weeks in rebuttals to an article I wrote that was published in the April 22, 2012 issue of
Governor-General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, has said that the Government will be redoubling its efforts to resolve the country
THE Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has reiterated that Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is the preferred option as Jamaica explores alternatives to electricity generation fuelled by oil.
Valentine Fagan, the managing director of South Jamaica Power Company, made the pronouncement while addressing the weekly Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange. That company was set up by the JPS to preside over the construction of a 360-megawatt plant in Old Harbour, St Catherine. According to JPS, that facility, which is slated to come on stream in December 2014, will replace the inefficient and aged Old Harbour power-generating plant.
“There is really not much difference in terms of coal versus LNG, just that it is possible to bring on the LNG plant much faster. Coal plants take five years for construction, in addition to the many environmental issues,” said Fagan as he addressed reporters and editors at the Observer’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters.
“If we don’t add capacity, and if we assume modest growth in the economy, we would have breached the 25 per cent reserve margin, and would find it difficult to supply peak demand. This would result in widespread outages,” Fagan added.
For several months, some stakeholders in the energy sector have been questioning moves by the JPS and the Government to introduce LNG. Some of the observers have suggested that coal would be a less-expensive option. Others have suggested that LNG prices will begin to skyrocket, and have also indicated that Jamaica
RED Stripe is currently evaluating the possibility of establishing a cogeneration plant at its Spanish Town Road brewery, making the beer company the first in the Caribbean to have such a facility. Cogeneration plants became popular in the 1980s as the most efficient system of generating electricity and producing heat.
Unlike the cogeneration system, a typical central station utility plant sees 35 per cent of the energy generated by burning fuel to produce electric power, but 40 to 45 per cent is rejected as “waste” or by-product heat, which is normally dumped. Also, another 20 per cent tends to get lost up the smokestack of the boiler.
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RED STRIPE BUILDING |
Ever since oil prices soared in the 1970s, it became imperative for businesses worldwide to find technological solutions to contain rising energy costs, especially in manufacturing industries where typically raw materials comprise of as much as 50 per cent of total costs.
Red Stripe, which was acquired by British drinks giant Diageo, has had to carefully manage its input costs in Jamaica against the background of a contracting ecconomy characterised by a drop in aggregate demand.
Supply Director for Red Stripe, Cedric Blair, said the company had long recognised the benefits to be derived from cogeneration, which is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat. With that system, the heat that may otherwise be wasted in the production of electricity is captured and utilised to produce steam, which may be used for both industrial and domestic purposes.
Utilisation of waste heat in this way also reduces the requirement for cooling water supplies for power generation and eliminates the need for structures such as the cooling towers that dominate the skyline in a conventional power plant.
With a firm focus on reducing energy costs, Red Stripe is contemplating installing a 3 – 5 MW plant at a cost of between US$5 to $7 million with a payback of just 2 to 3 years. Blair said the time frame for completion is 12 months from contract.
“We have to find ways in which we can lower our energy costs, which is close to 12 to 15 per cent of the cost of production,” declared Blair, pointing out that the costs of energy in Trinidad and Tobago is US 5 cents per kWh while it costs Jamaicans close to US40 cents per kwh. He recalled that “in 2005 we were paying 11 to 13 US cents per kWh now it’s 34 to 35 cents US per kWh.”
The high cost of energy, a major input for manufacturers, has not escaped the attention of several local trade bodies including the Jamaica Exporters Association. They continue to lament the wide disparity between energy costs in Jamaica as opposed to what prevails in its fellow Caricom member Trinidad and Tobago.
While cogeneration plants can be effectively used by hotels and industrial production facilities, Blair contends “it is perfect for breweries and can bring many benefits. For instance, it can produce electricity 70 to 80 per cent more efficiently and will cost 11 cents US per kWh… it will provide us with steam and water for cooling our offices.”
Several businesses and insitutions across the world have installed cogeneration plants and are reporting positive results. Assistant Vice- President for Sustainability and Technical Services at New York University, John Bradley, is reported to have said, “Cogeneration in and of itself is a much more efficient process; the cogen plant is really the hub of our sustainability and energy efficient delivery of utilities to the university for the next 40 years.”
So where is Red Stripe looking to source this most strategic asset. “We are looking at Europe, America… we are talking to a number of reputable companies. We have shortlisted three who are capable of designing and building the plant,” Blair said, adding, “we are finalising design and structure”.
In terms of the primary source of fuel for the plant, he said it could be natural gas, diesel or heavy fuel
(bunker seed).
Some cogeneration plants need as much as four
acres of land, and Blair said Red Stripe has ample land space to accommodate such a large plant.
As far as the environmental benefits are concerned, Blair believes that LNG is the best option. He cited a reduction in carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere as a positive benefit from the cogeneration plant. He went on to say that when operational, it will undergo performance tests to determine the power output and plant heat rate.
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The continued rise in the cost of oil on the international market has triggered increases in the cost of locally produced energy, which has had a negative
The corporate headquarters of Jamaica Public Service Company Limited, Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston.
Combustion turbines or diesel engines?
Below is JPS’ Response to the article ‘Shock Treatment: Can JPS do more to reduce energy cost?’ by Dr Densil Williams (published in