Every
so often I become an Accidental Tourist. That’s when I wander somewhere I
shouldn’t and end up learning something I was not supposed to take an interest
in. Whenever that happens, I do a blog article.
This
one is about a more recent development with Jamaica’s Local banks, who are not
beginning to offer very attractive loans for Alternative Energy installations
as noted in the article “Financial
institutions take aim with green energy loans”, published
Sunday, October 14, 2012 By Nekiesha Reid Business reporter, The Jamaica Observer.
I
suspect that may be a follow on to the recent announcement of the MOU between
JPS Co (Jamaica Public Service Company) and UTECH (University of Technology) to
build a 100KW Photovoltaic system on Campus, the largest single installation to
date in Jamaica and possibly the Caribbean as noted in my blog
article entitled “JPS
Co to build 100 KW Solar Plant at UTECH - Marubeni of Japan and EWP (East West
Power) Benevolence as LNG Project now Taken 2 the next Level for 2015AD”
To
more specific, not all of the Big Three Banks, albeit one of them was there;
Bank of Nova Scotia aka Scotia Bank, VMBS (Victoria Mutual Building Society)
and newcomer Nation
Growth Microfinance Limited, a micro-financing company. They now join the
following list of financial institutions offering Alternative Energy loans:
1. DBJ (Development Bank of Jamaica) –
started the ball rolling
2. Capital and Credit Financial Group
3. C&WJCCU (Cable and Wireless
Jamaica Co-Operative Credit Union)
4. National People’s Co-Operative Bank
5. National EX-IM (Export-Import) Bank,
6. Jamaica Money Market Brokers
7. Capital Credit Merchant Bank
I’m
involved, as on Friday October 12th 2012, I happened to saunter
across from New Kingston into Emancipation Park, the slowly falling apart due
to lack of maintenance Green space just outside of New Kingston proper. I say
sauntered, as I was on my way towards the Downtown Bus Stop but decided to take
the shortcut.
Fateful
accident, as I walked in on the DBJ (Development Bank of Jamaica) Energy Conference, an annual
showcase put on to give Alternative Energy Contractors a chance to have a
public Open House on Alternative or Renewable Energy Solutions such as:
1. Solar Water Heaters
2. Solar Panel Installations
3. Wind Turbine Installations
4. LED Light bulbs and fixtures
At this point I must comment that
only one contractor on hand featured a Wind Turbine as a product appeared to be
a FDI (foreign Direct investor. It was a vertical Wind Turbine Design that is
sure to catch on Jamaica, especially people living on the Coastal Areas.
Strangely too, none of them had a full scale model of a complete Renewable
Energy Solution in a house-like setting, to give visitors a practical example
of what such a system installation looks like or what it’s capable of powering.
Also, no research is ongoing in
Jamaica among Local Alternative Energy companies to develop better Wind Turbine
Designs or alternative ways of Tapping the suns energy, such as Solar
Concentrators or even Solar Wind Turbines that use Sunlight to turn a Turbine
as prognosticated in my blog
article entitled “Alternative Energy and the Solar
Generator - Pitch Black”.
More on Solar Wind Turbines in a later article.
Just lots of Documents, Business
Cards and Technical-speak to an audience that was mostly single males, mainly
Power Engineers and JPS Co Staff, based on their work shoes and mannerisms
atypical of Power Engineering folk. The Ministry of Science, Technology Energy and
Mining had their own booth, with the Minister of Science, Technology Energy and
Mining on hand to represent on hand.
The NHT (National Housing Trust),
the original pioneers in terms of offering financing for Alternative Energy
mortgages to existing NHT housing units, was also there in their own little
booth. I was surprised that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security was not
on hand to demonstrate how they were able to lower their Energy and Utility
usage by JA$9 million as pointed out in my blog
article entitled “Ministry of Labour and Social
Security JA$9 Million Energy Savings - Mad Money for Happy Workers”.
Ironically, it was those Local Banks
that had partnered with an Alternative Energy contractor to be at the
Conference that had full blown houses mock-ups to demonstrate how a Solar Power
System was installed and give a diagrammatic display of what a typical system
could power.
These Latecomers to the Alternative
Energy Game were offering Residential and Commercial loans for Alternative
Energy Solutions Loans.
Local you say? Offering loans for
Residential and Commercial loans for Alternative Energy Solutions? Yes Local
Banks; to be precise, the following oddball couples:
1. Scotia Bank partnered with
Alternative Energy contractor Iree Solar
2. Nation Growth Microfinance Limited
partnered with Alternative Energy contractor New Leaf
3. VMBS partnered with Alternative
Energy contractor ConserveIt
It’s thus good to see that so many
new financial entities have joined with the GOJ and the NHT to begin offering
financial assistance in getting Alternative Energy gear into the hands or
ordinary Jamaicans. Not everyone is like Mr. Paul Chong, a retired business man
from St Mary with JA$5 million to build a Solar System as noted in the article
“Off
the grid - St Mary man turns to wind energy”, published Wednesday, October 26, 2011
BY ALESIA
EDWARDS Observer staff reporter,
The Jamaica
Observer.
Waivers on import duties for
Photovoltaic Panels, Wind Turbines and other Alternative Energy components are
what’s needed to encourage more Jamaicans to afford to invest what’s
effectively a second mortgage to go off the Grid as concluded by my
blog
article entitled “Lack of Waivers for Expensive
Alternative Energy Gear - Mr. Paul
Chong's Adoption Contradiction”.
Such waivers would then encourage
investors to come to Jamaica and via these financial entities, set up their own
PUC (Power Utility Companies) based on renting Solar Panels and Wind Turbines
to Residential customer as described in my blog
article entitled “Alternative Energy and Residential
Solar Power - The Social Network” and “Alternative Energy and Distributed
AEPP - The GoldenEye Talk Shop”.
This would make installations such
as even the one at Minister Philip Paulwell’s house, which makes extra income
for him by reselling electricity via a Net Metering arrangement as reported in my
blog
article entitled “Phillip Paulwell makes Net Billing
official with 11 licenses issued - JPS Co invited via Mavado's Come Round a Mi
Yard” more common place.
In turn, such waivers would make it
easier for not only ordinary people to go off the grid. FDI (Foreign Direct
Investors) would also find it easier to set up in Jamaica in the Energy Sector
that Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining is trying to liberate,
as stated in my blog
article entitled “JPS
Co parents Marubeni and EWP mull decision to supply LNG - GOJ to eat Humble Pie
to avoid an Ice Age Continental Drift”, starting with an LNG
(Liquid Natural Gas) Deal with JPS Co (Jamaica Public Service Company).
Already
news of the commencement of Solamon Corporation of Canada 60 Acre Solar Farm
that was to straddle three (3) parishes and Green Energy RG plans to produce
Solar power Gear in Jamaica as stated in my blog
article entitled “Solamon
Energy Corp & Green RG invest in Jamaica's Alternative Energy Future - Let
the Cheaper Energy Hunger Games for Latin America Begin” has gone cold in
the Media and the minds of Jamaicans.
As lamented in my
blog
article entitled my blog
article entitled “Lack of Waivers for Expensive
Alternative Energy Gear - Mr. Paul
Chong's Adoption Contradiction”, incentives in the way of Waivers and Tax breaks would
actually go a long way to make Energy Sector Liberalization a reality. Ditto too
for importation of All-Electric Vehicles and support for investors in the
Bio-Fuel Sector in Jamaica as noted in my blog
article entitled “ATL Automotive to benefit from
Low-Sulphur Diesel in 12 Months Time - Bio-Fuels Resident Evil Apocalypse”.
Truly, the GOJ needs to have a Rise of the Guardians (2012) in order to make Solar Power and
Wind Energy more affordable to Jamaicans.
1 comment:
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto
a co-worker who had been conducting a little research on this.
And he actually bought me dinner due to the fact that I stumbled upon it for him.
.. lol. So let me reword this.... Thank YOU for the meal!
! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this matter
here on your blog.
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