15 Schools and 3 GOJ Agencies Go Solar - How PCJ Solar Project saves GOJ Electricity Bills

“Solar PV systems should be up and running at twelve schools very early in the new academic year so those institutions should soon see savings on their electricity bills. Even though the PV systems should help to lower energy bills the staff and students at each of these schools should still be rigorous about conservation and efficient energy usage in order to reap continual savings from this investment”

PCJ’s Group General Manager, Winston Watson, commenting on the installation of the solar Panels at some twelve (12) schools across Jamaica

Come September 2015, when schools re-open, at least twelve of them will be running on Solar Power.

The PCJ (Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica) has finally completed the installation of photovoltaics at twelve (12) high schools across Jamaica by the end of September 2015 as reported in the article “Solar Panels Installed In 12 Schools To Cut Gov't's Electricity Bill”, published Thursday September 3, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner.

So who are the lucky schools to get solar panels? If you think really hard, you’ve actually heard this bit of news before!

Fifteen High Schools to Get Solar Panels – Universities should follow Solar PV Project to save on Electricity Bill

The lucky schools to get Solar Panels are the same ones that were supposed to have had solar panels installed as part of a JA$62 million Solar Photovoltaic Project announced back in June 2014 as reported in my blog article entitled “PCJ to install JA$62 million Solar Panels Systems - 15 Schools and 3 GOJ Institution Guinea-Pigs has Wigton III Project Venezuelan Connection”.

Despite the title of the reference article, there is a total of fifteen (15) not twelve high schools that are involved in the JA$62 million Solar Photovoltaic Project. That original list of fifteen (15) schools is as follows:

1.      Ardenne High

2.      Clarendon College

3.      Dinthill Technical High School

4.      Glenmuir High School

5.      Hampton School for Girls

6.      Kingston High School

7.      Munro College

8.      Norman Manley High School

9.      Old Harbour High School

10.  Rose Hill Primary School

11.  St Catherine High School

12.  St Elizabeth Technical High School

13.  St Hugh’s High School

14.  Vere Technical High School

15.  Wolmer’s Girls’ School

Twelve (12) of them have had their solar panels installed as part of Phase I of the project as listed in the Press release titled “Installation in progress under PCJ Solar PV Systems for Schools Initiative”, published 2015-09-02, The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, Go-Jamaica:  

1.      Ardenne High

2.      Clarendon College

3.      Glenmuir High

4.      Hampton School for Girls

5.      Munro College

6.      Norman Manley High

7.      Old Harbour High

8.      St. Elizabeth Technical High

9.      Vere Technical High

10.  Dinthill Technical High

11.  St. Catherine High

12.  Wolmers Girls’ Schools

Phase II of the project will involve the installation of Solar Panels ate the remaining three (3) high schools and three (3) additional Government Agencies:

1.      Kingston High

2.      Rose Hill Primary

3.      St. Hugh’s High School

There are also three (3) executive agencies that are also being taken off the grid and placed on Solar Power! They fall under the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining and are basically Test Guinea-pigs before the JA$62 million Solar Photovoltaic Project is expanded to GOJ Buildings:

1.      SRC (Scientific Research Council)

2.      ODPEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management)

3.      PCJ (Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica)

Looks like I was right after all about the PCJ (Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica) plans, as these eighteen (18) installations will save the GOJ on their electricity bill:

1.      344,000 kilowatt hours of energy per annum

2.      JA$16 million annually on electricity bills

No doubt this'll be expanded to other High schools and GOJ Executive agencies and Ministries.

Hopefully, too they'll change out the Air conditioning, as a JA$62 million Solar Photovoltaic Project is pointless if the equiptment isn't optimize to efficiently use the electricity generated.

Also I'm hoping that the various Universities such as the UWI (University of the West Indies) and MICO University College seeks assistance from the PCJ to gradually take their campus off the Grid!

Here’s the link:

Installation in progress under PCJ Solar PV Systems for Schools Initiative