Susan Smith, Staff Reporter
PLANS ARE afoot to provide the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) with cheaper energy options, says Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell.
He was addressing members of the JMA at their Executive Committee Meeting held recently at the registered office of the association in Kingston.
"Cabinet has recently approved the establishment of an Energy Fund with the Board of Trustees," he said. "The Energy Fund is to assist companies and individuals in the long run, to drive down the cost of energy."
With the establishment of the Fund, every business will be required to do an energy audit, regardless of its size. Companies will also get a grasp of how the audits are conducted and be given recommendations on ways to reduce high energy cost.
The Minister stated that Government is fine tuning the energy creation process with wind, hydro, bio-mass and solar so that an investing company does not have to rely solely on the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS).
"With uneasy findings with the OUR, if an organisation wants to generate electricity for itself, it can do so without being in violation of the JPS licence. We are developing a policy of co-generation so if you want to develop more energy than you need, you can do so," he explained pointing out that Jamaica Broilers and the Bauxite Industry have already participated in this.
Net metering is also being pursued as an option for manufacturers. "When you are producing more electricity, it is banked or stored in the grid and JPS will pay you for that contribution," said Mr. Paulwell.
He made a special appeal to the JMA to maximise the use of solar energy. "There are many business opportunities for solar equipment. People are profiteering because there is no competition," he said.
Mr. Paulwell hopes that by 2010, 15 per cent of our energy will come from renewable sources. At present, it is at five per cent. This will demand another 120 megawatt which is a (J$9.3 billion) US$150 million worth of investment.
