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How Renewables are redefining Energy Economics in Jamaica
Although natural gas and coal clearly serve a purpose in reducing Jamaica’s exposure to oil market volatility and to the withering Petrocaribe agreement, they are only stop-gap measures. Because Jamaica lacks any substantial domestic coal and natural gas, these resources must be imported from foreign producers as well. The country’s current policy decisions related to the transition away from petroleum fail to address the fundamental issue of energy security.
Clean Energy: A Clear Advantage
Jamaica’s aggressive expansion of wind generation capacity is an important first step on the path to energy independence and a sustainable energy system. These efforts can and should be replicated for the country’s other abundant renewable energy resources: biomass, solar, and hydro-power.
Like other agriculturally focused Caribbean countries, Jamaica has substantial potential to generate energy from sugarcane and coffee residues and other organic wastes. Although biomass energy can have serious environmental and social impacts related to feedstock production and potential competition with food crops, developing these resources may help promote investment in other Jamaican renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. Because biomass can be stored, electricity production from biomass-powered plants can be ramped up or down quickly to meet demand. As a result, biomass is well suited to offsetting the intermittency associated with wind or solar power plants.
A critical factor distinguishing renewable power from conventional fossil fuel generation is the operation and maintenance costs, since renewable energy generation does not require costly fuel imports. In Jamaica, operation and maintenance costs for petroleum plants are on average 8 times higher than those for solar, wind, and hydro-power plants that have comparable generation capacity.
The benefits of transitioning away from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum and toward Jamaica’s abundant renewable resources extend well beyond increased energy security. Comparative cost assessments of the country’s electricity generation technology options make clear that, by 2030, Jamaica can save up to US$12.5 billion in energy system expenditures by transitioning to renewables. By passing these savings on to consumers and directing funds to grid infrastructure improvements, Jamaica can greatly reduce the dampening effect of high electricity prices on the country’s potential for economic growth while creating high-value-added local jobs in the energy sector. Conveying these benefits is critical to convincing energy sector stakeholders that the high upfront investments required for renewable-based generation are worthwhile.
Philip Killeen is a Research Assistant for the Climate and Energy Team at Worldwatch Institute. He has contributed to the co-authoring the 2015 Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap Strategy and independent research on sustainable urbanization and climate finance in developing states.
An original version of this article was published on the on Worldwatch Institute blog.
