The Renewable Energy Industry in CARIFORUM Countries

JAMAICA

RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT

3.10 | JAMAICA

people as of 2019 (UN, 2019). Its main economic activities are in the tourism and financial sectors and to a lesser extent, the mining industry. The electricity utility is owned by the government and participates in the RE Industry, providing RE systems for customers. Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) has an installed capacity of 1,283 MW with about 151 MW of RE. Wind supplies 102MW, solar PV supplies 20MW and hydropower supplies 29MW. 119MW are provided by IPPs with Wigton wind farm contributing 102MW.

Jamaica is one of the largest countries in the Caribbean. It spans an area of 10,991 square Kilometres and had a population of 2,948,279

3.10.1 | LEAD GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES

The Ministry of Science, Energy & Technology is the lead Government Ministry with responsibility for the energy portfolio. It consults with other ministries including those responsible for Transport and Mining and Local Government Community Development in order to fulfill its mandate. This coordination is facilitated through a cabinet committee. A national energy policy for 2009 to 2030 and a roadmap to guide their activities have been completed. Permission has been granted to allow interconnection to the national grid based on specific regulations and a feed-in tariffs based on the wholesale prices. The energy unit has 250 staff which is adequate capacity to deal with issues in the RE industry. They actively develop and implement programs to encourage the residential and commercial sectors to implement EE and RE projects. The RE national focus for Jamaica is on Hydropower, PV and Wind. The lead Ministry’s relationship with the other external stakeholders is depicted in the diagram below.

UTILITIES REGULATOR

PRIVATE SECTOR INSTITUTIONS

REGIONAL INSTITUTIONS

LEAD GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES

FUNDING AGENCIES

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPANIES

Figure 3.50 | Relationships of Jamaica’s Lead Government Ministries

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The Renewable Energy Industry in CARIFORUM Countries