Minister says Renewable Energy
Policy Complete
Minister of Energy and
Mining, Hon. James Robertson, says the country could
have a Renewable Energy Policy in place within the next
three months.
Mr. Robertson said the draft has been completed while
speaking at a workshop on "Energy Efficiency and the
Role of Renewable Energy in a Developing Economy", at
the PCJ Auditorium on September 9.
He said the document would be uploaded to the Ministry's website by a week’s time, to allow interested parties to view it and make recommendations.
"If you accept them, in terms of when you read them, and we get back your final comments, it could be easily (done) within two to three months," Mr. Roberts projected.
The Minister informed the workshop that the "Energy from Waste" policy was also completed.
The workshop provided information on new renewable energy technologies being developed by a United States-based company, GreenRG, which is seeking to bring these technologies to Jamaica. The areas covered included: solar lighting technology, solar-powered drip irrigation, light emitting diode (LED) technology, water conservation, and ultraviolet and heat sink technology.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Hon. Laurence Broderick, urged stakeholders to carefully consider the information presented, as renewable energy was one of the key ways to liberate businesses and households from "oppressive utility rates."
Mr. Broderick also suggested that it was time Jamaica considers "meaningful" incentives for businesses wishing to invest in renewable energy.
Also speaking at the function, former Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, related the New Orleans experience following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He explained how solar energy could have minimised the challenges faced, after the city was cut off from the power grid.
Mr. Nagin, who is also a
promoter of green energy management, stated that
Jamaica's energy costs were unsustainable and that the
country should embrace the new technologies.
"Jamaica's power cost is 325 per cent higher than New
Orleans' cost. You are not going to be able to sustain
industry, if you are not able to address this very
quickly," he warned.
Jamaica is aiming to have
at least 20 per cent of its energy forms replaced by
renewable energy forms by 2030.