Energy Saving Archives - SolarBuzz Jamaica

Kingston Traffic Jams To Be Tackled Under US$30m Energy Project

September 15, 2016 Webmaster

In this 2012 file photo, an engineer installs traffic lights in Kingston. A new energy project aims to address traffic jams by synchronising stoplights across the Kingston Metropolitan Area.

A new energy-saving project costing US$30 million ($3.8 billion) will seek to reduce traffic jams in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) by synchronising 140 stop lights through a fibre-optic ring, while also cutting energy consumption at scores of government buildings.

The plan requires funding approval from donor agencies Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency. Both are considering loans of up to US$15 million each to a project that has Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica acting as the executing agency.

The project, dubbed ‘Jamaica Energy Management and Efficiency Programme’, involves three components: it aims to fast-track Government’s National Energy Conservation and Efficiency Policy 2010-2030, target a 70 per cent reduction in energy “intensity”, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent, said the IDB.

The traffic component aims to reduce the idle time that cars run on the road, which would reduce gas consumption. It would achieve this by implementing a more robust urban traffic management system – UTMS – which involves linking into the fibre-optic ring already developed by telecoms providers.

The IDB revealed the project late August and released documents on the project profile and environmental analysis. Both documents contain figures which vary slightly when breaking down each component, but the objectives remain consistent.

Regarding the road network, the government will upgrade or implement technologies for nine road segments, most of which are located in Kingston and one in Spanish Town.

39-50 Per Cent Growth

The IDB, utilising data from the National Works Agency (NWA), indicated that traffic growth along some of the KMA’s key corridors has increased 39-50 per cent over a decade, 2005-2015, without any associated improvements in road or intersection capacity.

Additionally, the absence of a complete UTMS to sync the operation of 140 traffic lights, with average spacing of 300 metres in between, remains a key factor causing congestion in the KMA.

“Most of the population commutes within urban centres, resulting in significant amount of congestion, lost time and wasted gasolene during idling or stalled traffic, especially the capital city Kingston,” stated the IDB.

Component I of the project amounts to US$24 million to finance energy efficiency and energy-conservation measures in government facilities, which could span 75 entities, with focus on educational and health facilities. Component II, at US$2.8 million, involves the financing of fuel efficiency in the transport sector. Component III, at US$1.8 million, will finance institutional strengthening for energy planning by developing information systems and training.

In 2015, public-sector facilities consumed some 7.4 per cent of all electricity generated in Jamaica, or approximately 393 gigawatt hours, costing the GOJ around US$36 million in oil imports, or an estimated US$102 million in electricity bills, the IDB said. Of this figure, roughly 22 per cent related to education and health facilities.

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.”

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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 Electricity Energy Saving News Solar Energy

Window Tinting, Solar Panels Cut NCB Energy Bill 20%

January 18, 2016 Webmaster

NCB Group headquarters, The Atrium, at Trafalgar Road, New Kingston. The banking group’s energy initatives have cuts its electricity bill by 20 per cent across its network.

National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB) has cut its energy consumption by 20 per cent over the past four years and is projecting half-billion dollars of new savings over the next four.

By tinting its windows, changing its light and air-conditioning units, and installing some solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, the bank hopes to cut its electricity bill by another eight per cent in 2016.

If it achieves its latest goal, NCB would spend $140 million less on energy this year than it would if it had not implemented any of the energy-saving initiatives that started in 2011.

Back then, the financial institution forked out over $600 million to keep the lights on. Air conditioning accounted for more than 60 per cent of the energy use while lighting accounted for another 20 per cent, so it was decided that light-emitting diode (LED) lights would be installed across its locations, while high efficiency air-condition units and solar systems have been put in place at select sites, such as NCB’s head office on Trafalgar Road.

Reflective tinting on windows, roof insulation, and automated light controls have also helped protect the bank’s buildings from heat infiltration and have enhanced the energy-saving process.

This year, NCB plans to “continue implementing projects to install high-efficiency air-conditioning systems at relevant locations and increase the use of LED and PV panels,” according to the latest annual report.

So far, it has spent $500 million to implement various energy-reduction initiatives.

“We have an energy portfolio that is continuously being assessed, and our expenditure is guided by our environmental policy and, therefore, is subject to variations,” said NCB in reply to Sunday Business queries.

With the energy-saving expenditure, the banking group has so far avoided some $300 million in energy cost over the past four years, and expects to save another $500 million over the next four, based on current energy rates.

NCB can also boast a positive contribution to the environment. By reducing its energy consumption by 2.7 million kilowatt-hours – which is equivalent to the electricity used by 1,350 homes in Jamaica – it has reduced its footprint by approximately 1,800 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. That’s the equivalent of the emissions given off by a plane making 25 round trips to and from New York, or by 100 cars driving from Kingston to Mandeville and back every day for a year.

Electricity Energy Saving Government News

Gov’t Saves $80m In Light Bill

January 11, 2016 Webmaster

In this 2013 photo, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell (left) and Roy Lafayette, chief executive officer at Geddes Refrigeration Limited, signs a US$2.65-million contract with Geddes Refrigeration Limited for the design, supply and retrofitting of efficient air-conditioning solutions in four State entities.

The Jamaican Government has so far realised savings of $80 million over the past two years under an energy efficiency programme which has been implemented in 40 public-sector facilities.

Dubbed the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programme (EECP), its general objective is to enhance Jamaica’s energy efficiency and energy conservation. Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell said that the State is now contemplating an expansion.

“We intend to take it much further, we are expanding it,” Paulwell said.

Among the methods employed to boost energy efficiency thus far is the use of film to reflect sunlight from windows, the painting of roofs with white paint to improve cooling, and the changing of lighting fixtures.

The Government has had to pay annual costs of almost $13 billion for electricity used by its entities, and the aim is to reduce the figure by $2 billion with the introduction of several key strategic energy-saving interventions.

The measures were recommended following an audit of the energy use by the public sector, with the overall objective to cut public-sector energy consumption by 30 per cent in 2017.

“The money is being absolutely well spent. I am very proud of this project,” Paulwell said.

This year, the Government is spending $379.8 million on the conservation programme, which is funded by a loan, up from the $310 million spent last year.

A total of $748.8 million is being spent on energy conservation and efficiency programmes this year, up from $599 million last year.

The targets set for this fiscal year include executing two contracts to replace inefficient air-conditioning systems in 11 state institutions at a cost of $254.9 million, and commencing the replacement of inefficient lighting in several public institutions ($77.3 million).

The Jamaica Information Service, which is among the entities that benefited from the programme, is reporting savings of 17.5 per cent per annum on its energy bill.

The Gleaner

Alternative Energy Climate Change Electricity Energy Saving News Solar Energy

Honey Bun To Invest US$250,000 On Solar Project

January 6, 2016 Webmaster

The Kingston-based bakery Honey Bun Limited is planning to spend US$250,000 to invest in its own 100-kilowatt solar-energy system at its factory in Kingston with the objective of increasing efficiency.

The project is expected to save the company, funded and run by the Chong family, up to 30 per cent on its electricity bill. The company’s strategy is to stagger the solar project over five stages with the first completed in December.

“Honey Bun strives to be more efficient while considering the impact we have on our environment. To that end, we aim to reduce our carbon footprint through Jamaica’s natural solar energy,” according to Chief Operating Officer Daniel Chong.

The company started installing solar panels on the roof of the factory since September 2015, Chong said. In the first phase,

24 kilowatts of inter-connected self-consumption photovoltaic power was installed. This will run concurrently with power supplied by the Jamaica Public Service, in order to increase energy output while lowering cost, he added. The precise timeline for the remaining stages remains undetermined.

“This will be concurrent with the expected build-out of factory space for increased output capacity,” Honey Bun said in response to Wednesday Business queries.

The project is expected to lower the $36 million spent in its 2015 financial year ($38.8 million in 2014) on an expense-line item termed rates, taxes, telephone, fuel and electricity.

Honey Bun’s property, plant and equipment, fair valued at $278 million, remains its largest asset which drives the electricity spend. Honey Bun acquired two properties in the company’s financial year ending September 2014. The acquisitions resulted in $145 million worth of additions to its property, plant and equipment during the 2014 financial year.

The company reportedly bought a 20,000-square foot property that joins its existing operations on Retirement Crescent to another piece it bought in October 2014. Its three properties combined are contiguous at numbers 22, 24 and 26 Retirement Crescent. The properties total some 1.3 acres or 57,000 square feet.

Honey Bun earned $69.9 million in profit from $885 million in sales for its September 2015 year end, compared with $22 million the previous year.

The company manufactures and distributes baked products to the local and export markets. It was listed on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange in June 2011. The profit rise contributed to the company’s stock jumping from $1.71 to $6.18 over 52 weeks.

The Gleaner

Alternative Energy Electricity News

High energy costs push NIC towards alternative power sources

December 15, 2015 Webmaster

As is the case with most local operations, the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) says energy eats up a large chunk of its operational expenses, with the State-run company spending close to $500 million on electricity in 2014/2015.

This accounted for 40 per cent of its operating costs, and already for this year, the commission’s electricity bill is at 47 per cent of operational costs. “So it is increasing as we bring on additional areas. Once there is a drought, then we have to increase the amount of pumping that is done in each of these districts. In some areas, for some months the electricity cost is greater than the revenue that we generate,” NIC Managing Director Mark Richards explained at yesterday’s

Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.

The NIC provides irrigation services mainly to the agricultural sector, and to a lesser extent industrial and commercial operations in Yallahs, St Thomas; Rio Cobre and Colbeck in St Catherine; central clarendon; New Forest and Duff House, in Manchester; Braco, Trelawny; Hounslow and Beacon/Little Park, in St Elizabeth; and Seven Rivers in St James

“Our electricity cost is one of the significant challenges that we operate under. We are the second-biggest consumer and payee of the JPS. For the year so far up to October, we are at $330 million. So it’s a challenge [and]we are looking at different energy management strategies and engineering strategies [such as] retrofitting our pumps [and] scheduling of our flows in order to better match the service to deal with the demand,” Director of Technical Services Milton Henry explained.

Henry said the commission faces a peculiar challenge, as while energy prices are trending down, the NIC has to be ramping up its operations to satisfy increasing demand for irrigated water.

“Every system we bring on is contributing to our cost, and we have not been able to pass on those costs to our farmers; so as we partner with them, we are saying let us find some more efficient approaches. We have had quite a bit of success… we have grown our business at a time of major challenges and continue to do so,” Henry said, noting that the NIC’s customer base has doubled from 1,265 in 2006 to 2,349 in 2014.

The NIC has moved to cut down on energy costs by retrofitting 15 of its stations with energy-saving devices. It is also looking to solar and wind energy sources. “So far we did a wind study in Manchester with a view to putting in a five megawatt capacity which would meet a significant portion of our demand. The study has been completed and shows that it is feasible. We are expected to move to the next phase… with some urgency,” he said.

The NIC is also eagerly awaiting the resumption of net billing, which the JPS suspended in May to carry out a review of the two-year pilot programme. The assessment which was conducted by the United States’ National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been completed, but up to last month the energy ministry was not able to tell stakeholders in the solar energy sector exactly when the programme would resume.

Jamaica Observer

Electricity Energy Saving JPS LNG

LNG Suppliers Selected – Power Plant In Operation By 2018

November 13, 2015 Webmaster

Head of the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET) Dr Vin Lawrence says there was a vast number of credible bids that were put forward for the supply of natural gas to the new power plant to be built by Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).

New Fortress Energy, the same entity which won the bid to supply gas to the Bogue power plant in Montego Bay, has been selected as the entity to supply LNG to the new plant, on which construction is expected to begin by the second quarter of next year. The arrangement will see New Fortress installing the facilities to receive, store and re-gas the fuel for use at the new 190-megawatt gas-fired plant at Old Harbour.

“Six entities submitted 16 variations of proposals and we were quite delighted at this because we have gone through 15-20 years of attempting to get LNG to Jamaica without much success, and on this RFP, we have had six credible entities submitting 16 variations of supply proposals,” Lawrence said.

The ESET chair, who was addressing a Jamaica House press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, also announced that the JPS has selected Spanish firm Abengoa to construct the new plant.

Lawrence said the agreement is for New Fortress Energy to build a terminal and supply the JPS with 200,000 metric tonnes of LNG per annum. New Fortress Energy will build, own and operate the plant which Lawrence said must be expandable.

In Ja’s Best Interest

The company will spend more than $200 million on the terminal, which is expected to be constructed at Rocky Point, Clarendon.

“We have been trying for 20 years to bring natural gas to Jamaica, and so, we believe it is also in our interest that we have a terminal facility that can expand and grow,” he said.

The gas plant is due to be finished by the fourth quarter of 2017 and the power plant is due to be ready at the beginning of 2018.

With Jamalco indicating that it is reviewing its decision on whether it will go ahead with the building of a coal plant or switch its plans to using natural gas, Lawrence said the demand for LNG could be about 500,000 metric tonnes per year.

Schedule Not Affected

Lawrence said the bauxite-producing company is being allowed another two to three weeks to “have discussions with the possible gas supplier for a final decision to be taken”.

“This period will not affect the scheduling that we had proposed for Jamalco. If they shift to gas, we would have a two-year rather than a three-year construction period and the capital cost would be significantly less,” Lawrence added.

The new building of the JPS power plant represents part of an effort to lower electricity costs on the island. The plant will replace 292 megawatts of heavy fuel oil power plant at Old Harbour in St Catherine, and will be combined with energy from renewable sources and cogeneration facilities from Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company and bauxite companies.

The final electricity price to the grid will be less than US$0.13 cents per kWh, the ESET head said, which would mean at least a 30 per cent cut in light bills.

Lawrence said Jamaica has been looking at getting one million metric tonnes per year, and that New Fortress Energy is expected to construct a terminal that can supply the 200,000 metric tonnes that the JPS requires.

He said the demand for LNG from other sources would determine how quickly the facility is expanded.

Technical assistance was provided by the Galway Group and Hatch Mott McDonald, two reputable international firms.

Critical issues such as the security of supply, capability of delivering the project, ability to expand the terminal, ability to meet the power plant schedule, and a commitment to achieve a timely financial close were considered in selecting New Fortress Energy as the preferred bidder.

The Gleaner

Electricity Energy Saving JPS News

Rural Electrification Programme renamed

June 19, 2015 Webmaster

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) –The Government has changed the name and mandate of the Rural Electrification Programme (REP), to the National Energy Solution Company Limited (NESCL), with an expanded role to achieve energy efficiency.

Making the disclosure, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell said the company, while bringing electricity to the 2.5 per cent of the island that is without the commodity, will also play a major role to reduce energy losses.

He noted that thousands of houses across the island are not properly wired, and working with the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), the problem will be finally solved.

“The NESCL is going to take that on. We are going to be working with the JPS (to cover) over 100 communities indentified by JSIF, where we have to do regularisation,” the minister said, while addressing the opening of an energy forum today at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.

“My role is to ensure that when we go through communities, we do not see this phenomenon. It is dangerous, it causes fires, deaths, and we are going to regularise the situation, once and for all,” Paulwell emphasised.

The minister also pointed out that much of the services offered by the Government Electricity Inspectors (GEIs) will be privatised, so that persons can get timely certification to access regular electricity.

The workshop is being held over three days, and will hear from representatives from six countries on their experiences to reduce energy losses.

Partners in the workshop are the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of Utilities Regulation, and the JPS.

The REP was incorporated in 1975, with the specific mandate to expand the reach of electricity supply to rural areas, where the provision of such services would not be economically viable for commercial providers of electricity.

It constructs electrical distribution pole line in electrified areas and provides house wiring assistance through a loan programme to householders.