Tweet
Give the National Energy Policy priority
Friday, June 08, 2007
A story published in this week's Business Observer reporting on the equipping of a 12-townhouse complex in Kingston with photovoltaic panels has again raised the issue of the use of solar power as part of Jamaica's energy conservation efforts.
The complex, named the Doric, is being developed on Clieveden Avenue by Mr Conrad Graham, and is being outfitted with the solar system by alternative energy expert Mr Damian Lyn, whose company, Alternative Power Sources, is fast developing a reputation for excellent work in that field.
According to the story, the system being installed at the Doric is fairly modest, with a 3.6 kilowatt capacity and 110 volt inverters, described by Mr Lyn as "a touch of solar" power.
"It will alternate between the (JPS) grid and the system," Mr Lyn was quoted as saying. "We are setting it up so it can alternate automatically, but homeowners can shut out the grid completely if they desire."
The Doric developer, Mr Graham, is to be commended for his energy conservationist effort in this housing complex, which will no doubt result in significant savings for the homeowners and ease pressure on the public grid, albeit a small amount.
But that fact, we believe, only serves to strengthen a suggestion made by Dr Raymond Wright that buildings should be roofed with photovoltaic tiles being a part of the buildings and not an add-on.
Architects, Dr Wright said at the recent annual general meeting of the Jamaica Solar Energy Association, should design using the panels, and building societies should consider special funding for the use of solar technology.
Dr Wright's suggestions make a lot of sense. For it has become increasingly obvious that Jamaica cannot continue its heavy dependence on oil as a source of energy, given that geopolitical events have been driving up the price of the commodity on the international market in recent months.
Indeed, our oil import bill has been staggering, moving from US$13 million in 1998 to US$813 million in 2003, to approximately US$1.2 billion each year for the past two years. And based on the demand for oil by large economies, such as China and India, we shouldn't expect to see a reduction in that bill, unless, of course, we make a shift to renewable sources of energy in a big way.
It is for this reason that we support the Government's establishment of an Energy Efficiency Unit at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), which has been promoting the use of alternative sources of energy; as well as the administration's drafting of a National Energy Policy and Strategy.
Our biggest disappointment, though, is that there appears to be a lack of urgency within the legislature to push this policy, which was first announced by then Prime Minister P J Patterson in his budget presentation in 2004.
Since then, the furthest the policy has got is to Green Paper stage. While we acknowledge the detailed nature of the policy recommendations and the fact that they need to be fully debated and properly formulated, we believe that this issue is of such fundamental importance to the Jamaican economy that it ought to be afforded more focus.
We hope that after the impending general elections, this policy will be given priority in the legislature.
Friday, June 08, 2007
A story published in this week's Business Observer reporting on the equipping of a 12-townhouse complex in Kingston with photovoltaic panels has again raised the issue of the use of solar power as part of Jamaica's energy conservation efforts.
The complex, named the Doric, is being developed on Clieveden Avenue by Mr Conrad Graham, and is being outfitted with the solar system by alternative energy expert Mr Damian Lyn, whose company, Alternative Power Sources, is fast developing a reputation for excellent work in that field.
According to the story, the system being installed at the Doric is fairly modest, with a 3.6 kilowatt capacity and 110 volt inverters, described by Mr Lyn as "a touch of solar" power.
"It will alternate between the (JPS) grid and the system," Mr Lyn was quoted as saying. "We are setting it up so it can alternate automatically, but homeowners can shut out the grid completely if they desire."
The Doric developer, Mr Graham, is to be commended for his energy conservationist effort in this housing complex, which will no doubt result in significant savings for the homeowners and ease pressure on the public grid, albeit a small amount.
But that fact, we believe, only serves to strengthen a suggestion made by Dr Raymond Wright that buildings should be roofed with photovoltaic tiles being a part of the buildings and not an add-on.
Architects, Dr Wright said at the recent annual general meeting of the Jamaica Solar Energy Association, should design using the panels, and building societies should consider special funding for the use of solar technology.
Dr Wright's suggestions make a lot of sense. For it has become increasingly obvious that Jamaica cannot continue its heavy dependence on oil as a source of energy, given that geopolitical events have been driving up the price of the commodity on the international market in recent months.
Indeed, our oil import bill has been staggering, moving from US$13 million in 1998 to US$813 million in 2003, to approximately US$1.2 billion each year for the past two years. And based on the demand for oil by large economies, such as China and India, we shouldn't expect to see a reduction in that bill, unless, of course, we make a shift to renewable sources of energy in a big way.
It is for this reason that we support the Government's establishment of an Energy Efficiency Unit at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), which has been promoting the use of alternative sources of energy; as well as the administration's drafting of a National Energy Policy and Strategy.
Our biggest disappointment, though, is that there appears to be a lack of urgency within the legislature to push this policy, which was first announced by then Prime Minister P J Patterson in his budget presentation in 2004.
Since then, the furthest the policy has got is to Green Paper stage. While we acknowledge the detailed nature of the policy recommendations and the fact that they need to be fully debated and properly formulated, we believe that this issue is of such fundamental importance to the Jamaican economy that it ought to be afforded more focus.
We hope that after the impending general elections, this policy will be given priority in the legislature.
Comment