The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has extended the deadline for the submission of proposals to supply 115-megawatts (MW) of renewable energy to the national grid.

In an addendum to the request for proposal posted last week, the OUR said the new deadline is Monday, June 3, instead of Tuesday, April 2, which was first announced.

The OUR has also indicated that all applications must now be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of US$8,000.

However, this fee will be returned to entities whose application are disqualified based on the terms governing the submission requirements.

According to the OUR, it now plans to complete the processing of the applications by August, with the successful applicants notified early in September.

Negotiations and an agreement for the project should be done by June 2014 with the new plants up and running by August 2015.

The request for renewable electrical energy and/or capacity from renewable sources is in keeping with the Government's target for renewable energy sources.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com