Leading the Way in Renewables

By wildgirl -

Anjani Ganase visits Jamaica and considers their proactive approach to building resilience. She finds solutions in reducing plastic waste, diversifying energy sources but also diversifying administration of resources.

 

Jamaica has long been a tourism destination making the most of natural features like Blue Hole, photo by Anjani Ganase

Jamaica is a major importer of oil and gas. However, the global economic crisis and the urgency of response needed for climate change have pushed Jamaica to develop a more resilient energy system, one that will withstand political crisis as well as natural disaster.

 

Their National Renewable Energy Policy (2009) focussed on energy conservation and diversification aims for 20 % renewables by 2030. Since 2020 Jamaica is relying on renewables to support 12 % of the national power demand – specifically 3 % hydroelectric, 6 % wind, 3 % solar. The rest of the energy system comes from clean natural gas (supplied by Trinidad and Tobago) that is run efficiently from brand new high efficiency power plants, such as South Jamaica Power Centre, with automotive diesel in storage in case of emergency if a hurricane hits the island. Fortunately, this emergency supply has not been needed since the plant’s inception.

 

New energy systems aim to buffer the volatile global energy market and diversify power supply on a decentralised grid. This is intended to reduce the scale of power loss and facilitate back up emergency supply. JPS Ltd is supported by four power stations, nine hydroelectrical plants and nine wind farms. With renewable energy comes the challenge of efficient energy storage, and JPS has combined battery and flywheel energy storage systems to store renewable energy. Flywheels work by having a rotor that spins at very high velocities with the energy being stored as rotational energy. Once the energy is extracted the speed of the flywheel drops.

 

Much of the success of Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) Limited can be attributed to its privatisation - today it is co-owned by a few private sector partners with the government owning a minor share – and greater investment into research and development in energy resilience. The vision of resilience is not complete without a national programme to supply battery electric vehicles (cars, buses etc) that can put power back into the grid in cases of emergency. This project was undertaken in 2019 between the Jamaican government and the Inter-American Development Bank and sets Jamaica on the path to achieving their carbon reduction targets.

 

Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago

 

The renewable energy proportion for Barbados sits at 4 % (2019).  For Trinidad and Tobago it is 0.43 % (2019) despite having a target for 30 % renewable by 2030. The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC Act), continues to have regulations to limit renewable energy power generation by Independent Power Producers. As the TT Government with no certain deadline seeks to adjust the legislative framework for the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, the rest of the Caribbean surpasses Trinidad and Tobago in the energy transition race. Our transition to renewables has the potential to generate jobs; it will also have the same benefits of energy resilience against disasters and free up our LNG supply for export to bring more foreign exchange into the country.  

 

Plastic ban

 

During the short trip to Jamaica, it became apparent that neither plastic bags nor styrofoam packaging were being used in restaurants. Instead, our meals of jerk pork, festival and plantain were delivered in brown boxes and paper bags. In 2019, the Government of Jamaica instituted a national ban on styrofoam and single-use plastics. It started with the first phase of banning of importation of styrofoam and plastic bags and plastic straws instituted in 2019. This was followed by the banning of manufacturing of styrofoam, one year after in January 2020. In 2021, the importation of juice boxes with attached plastic straws was also banned, and a plea from the private sector for a three-year extension resulted only in a six-month extension. Transitioning from plastics has several benefits including reducing the long-term plastic waste that will inevitably invade the river and coastal environment, especially bearing in mind that these natural spaces are major tourism destinations. Clogging of waterways would also increase the risk of flooding, a risk that is likely to increase with climate projections.

 

There were some exceptions allowing the use of single-use plastics when it came to the packaging of raw goods and materials, as well as for use in healthcare. Until a suitable alternative is found, styrofoam continues to be used in the packaging of raw meats. The fines are hefty for persons caught selling plastics and styrofoam.  What we saw was a societal shift, where people are adapting to change, and while it is not perfect consumers are generally accepting the changes. Businesses explored alternatives of paper or re-usable metal straws, but alternative packaging products have also made their way into the markets. Today, there are several projects to curb plastic pollution in Jamaica. One example is the Eco-Rewards Recycling Pilot which is the national deposit refund scheme for plastic bottles being done by local businesses to avoid additional taxes for plastic bottle use. The project is run by the National Environment and Planning Agency along with Jamaica’s National Solid Waste Management Authority, alongside supermarkets and manufacturer’s Association. Persons can receive up to 50 Jamaican dollars per pound of plastic or $2.20 TTD. The project aims to have a 33 % recovery by 2021 and 66 % recovery by 2023.

 

The coming revolution is not the race for resources. Our Caribbean islands are blessed abundantly. The revolution will take place in the imagination, in the innovativeness in using the resources wisely and for the benefit of all, our diverse populations, our islands, our Caribbean peoples, land and sea. Diversification remains key: not just of industry but of management and ownership approaches.

 

As a popular tourism destination, Jamaica Blue Hole is kept pristine. Photo by Anjani Ganase

 

 

Reference

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/jamaica-plastics-ban-creates-new-opportunities

 

https://www.mset.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Draft-Renewable-Energy-Policy_0.pdf

 

https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/ditc-ted-29042021-OceasPlastics-PSOJ.pdf

 

https://www.pioj.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VNR_Goal_7.pdf

 

https://blogs.iadb.org/energia/en/jamaica-electric-mobility-critical-to-energy-security/

 


 


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