My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica: Green Energy RG helps Local Government install 5000 Solar Powered LED Streetlights in Jamaica

Friday, January 18, 2013

Green Energy RG helps Local Government install 5000 Solar Powered LED Streetlights in Jamaica



As I has declared prematurely in my blog article entitled “GOJ to introduce Solar or Wind powered LED Streetlights in 2013 - Amor for the Jamaican Les Miserables Energy Sector Liberalization” the GOJ had decided to go with Green Energy RG (Green RG Management LLC) as their contractor to install the Solar powered LED (Light Emitting Diode) Street lights.

This bit of news has been confirmed by the Gleaner in the article “Energy-saving streetlights introduced”, published Thursday January 10, 2013 1:36 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner states that the project began on Tuesday January 8th 2013 in Osbourne store, Clarendon and would initially see the installation of some five thousand (5000) Solar Powered LED Streetlights initially in the following areas:

1.      Clarendon
2.      Kingston and St. Andrew
3.      St. Catherine

That’s a small start, about 5% of the ninety three thousand (93,000) streetlights installed islandwide. Aside from the cost of electricity from JPS Co (Jamaica Public Service Company), there was also the associated maintenance cost of changing blown incandescent bulbs and sensors. 

Many of these photo-sensors had begun to malfunction and as a result the Streetlights stay on in the daytime, necessitating a contractor to be contracted to upgrade and replace all of them as opined in my blog article entitled “Alternative Energy Contract for JPS Co Streetlight Upgrade Coming - JPS Co Winsome Callum's Bourne Supremacy”.

So the upgrade to Solar Powered LED Streetlights is very necessary. It addresses an urgent problem that is very widespread; streetlights that don’t turn off and continue wasting electricity at daytime and also use a lot of power to light up the Incandescent bulbs to provide illumination at night. 

It’s costing the Ministry of Local Government which has oversight over Streetlights headed by Minister Noel Arscott, some JA$2 billion per year to maintain them as noted in “Government starts streetlight energy-saving project”, published Tuesday, January 08, 2013 | 8:13 PM, The Jamaica Observer.

In the process, Green Energy RG’s contract that had been vetted since 2011 is now being fulfilled as described 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” and my Geezam Blog article entitled “Green RG in Jamaica to make Solar Power Gear”. 

Some ten (10) Technicians will get training on the installation and maintenance of these fairly maintenance free Solar-powered Streetlights that will save the GOJ a significant amount of Tax revenue spent on JPS co bills as well as maintaining the 93,000 streetlights islandwide.

If this installation of Solar powered Streetlights is successful and spreads islandwide, it’ll be the largest Solar Installation in Jamaica dwarfing Digicel’s new building downtown as described in my blog article entitled “Digicel adds on Green Power to future Corporate Building - Petula Clarke's Downtown Global Warming Crisis”.

Once completed islandwide, it’ll even be bigger than the 100KW planned installation of Solar Panels at UTECH (University of Technology) that began in October 2012 and is slated to be completed in six (6) months’ time in April 2013 as stated 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”.

Benefits abound, aside from reduced maintenance and Electricity costs both for the GOJ and Green Energy RG. For the GOJ, they can use Net billing Arrangement to make money from the JPS Co as described in my blog article entitledPhillip Paulwell makes Net Billing official with 11 licenses issued - JPS Co invited via Mavado's Come Round a Mi Yard” . 

This revenue would go into a fund to manage the work of Ministry of Local Government, with some of that revenue going towards the continued maintenance and upgrade of the Solar powered LED Streetlights.

Using a Power wheeling arrangement, excess power Generated by the Solar Powered LED Streetlight Network (yes it’s a Network folks!) the Local Government can re-use its own power generated from the Network within its Government Ministries, thereby reducing their electricity bills as described in my blog article entitled Ministry of Energy Clive Mullings alters the JPS Co License for Energy Sector Liberalization - Jamaica and The Sun Salutes You

This Network can be remotely monitored using Transponders that send operating Data wirelessly over either Telecom Provider Digicel or Telecom Provider LIME’s Network back to a NOC (Network Operations Center) Server maintained by either the Ministry of Local Government or even the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining. 

This is in a manner similar to JPS Co Digital Meter Network as described in my blog article entitled “JPS Co New Digital Meters are all Smart Meters - Winsome Callum's A Simple Twist of Fate  and as further explained in my Geezam Blog article entitled “JPS Co Analog Meter upgrade heralds Remote Billing Revolution”.

These Solar Powered LED Streetlights present an attractive prospect for Battery and LED Lighting Thieves. 

That’s not including Scrap metal thieves looking for copper to steal not that the ban’s been lifted on the Scrap Metal Trade and it’s set to resume in the next few months with the FCJ (Factory Corporations of Jamaica) to supervise the trade as stated in “Factories Corporation to take charge of scrap-metal sites”, published Monday January 14, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner and “FCJ takes charge of scrap metal trade”, published Monday, January 14, 2013 6:18, The Jamaica Observer.

But it’s Green Energy RG that’ll benefit the most. Working at a pace of five thousand (5000) streetlights every six months, they can have the entire island upgraded in roughly nine (9) years’ time, making this a very lucrative long term contract. 

If it’s completed successfully, they can use the Jamaican Guinea-pig as a practice as demonstration to potential clients of their Technology and the fact that it’s feasible to manufacture Solar powered Gear right here in Jamaica.

Consequently this sets them up for their Latin American adventure as described 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” and my Geezam Blog article entitled “Green RG in Jamaica to make Solar Power Gear”, their long term goal in the next 10 years.

Clearly Green Energy RG the Gangster Squad (2013) from West of Memphis (2012) is in it for the long Haul, using this contract as a springboard to demonstrate their technology and launch out into the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America in a model that closely mimics Telecom Provider Digicel when they came to Jamaica some 13 years ago.

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