Christopher Burgess | Powering progress: renewable energy and smarter homes

Jamaican stands at a crossroad in the energy future. Despite years of missed renewable targets, electricity costs remain among the highest—between US$0.32 and US$0.45 per kilowatt-hour. Over 65 per cent of electricity bills are tied to imported fossil fuel.

On July 1, the government invoked Condition 27 in JPS’s licence, raising the possibility of acquiring the utility’s operations and negotiating widely. It was a dramatic move that sparked concern from JPS and criticism from the Opposition over the lack of negotiation preparation. For a grid riddled with over 30 per cent theft are we sending the wrong signals to potential investors. It begs the question: what is the plan?

If the goal is lower electricity bills, then leadership and execution is required. We must not shackle our energy future to empty overseas promises. Instead, we must restart our renewables programme, stuck at 14 per cent for the last decade, and invest in homegrown power, from solar and wind to smarter grid-tied homes. CARICOM countries are doing it. Why haven’t we done so in the last decade?

For the Jamaican family and economy, the status quo is just not working. To understand how we got here, we must revisit the promises made a decade ago, starting with LNG.

LNG: OVERPROMISED AND UNDER-DELIVERED

Jamaica embraced liquefied natural gas (LNG) a decade ago. It was sold as a clean, stable, and affordable solution to the energy mix and promised 40 per cent savings by JPS’s Kelly Tomblin. But despite major investments, electricity prices have dropped less than 6 per cent, according to JPS. Is our outrage misplaced? Jamaica’s electricity rates are set by the government’s own regulator – the OUR – not JPS. This raises a fair question: why hasn’t the minister stepped in to address the regulator’s pricing decisions?

LNG now fuels over half of the grid, and price volatility persists. Just look at what happened during COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, when fuel rates tripled. The former owners of New Fortress, once champions of LNG stability, exited in 2025, leaving us with another import dependency.

As LNG and OUR falters, it’s time to revisit Jamaica’s homegrown energy sources.

INDIGENOUS POWER

Solar and wind projects like Wigton’s 62 MW wind farm and Content’s 20 MW solar facility show that renewables can deliver scale. Yet progress has stalled, despite Jamaica’s abundant solar and wind resources. An additional 500 MW of renewables could be developed that would fuel savings. Yet we continue to spend over US$1.6 billion annually on fuel imports. This raises a critical question: why hasn’t Jamaica added any significant renewable capacity in nearly a decade, despite its clear potential?

We should also consider less conventional sources like geothermal, which offers steady, baseload power. Though Jamaica’s geothermal potential is modest, studies show sites like Milk River, Windsor and Bath could produce about 40 MW – enough to justify a pilot project.

SMARTER HOMES

The future is more than wind and solar farms; it’s also about grid-tied systems in homes and businesses. But let’s face it, net billing isn’t attractive at US$0.10/kWh. The government must broker a middle ground between net-metering and net-billing to drive adoption.

Conservation and efficiency in homes seems to have also taken a back seat. The government’s EMEP Programme that delivers LED lighting, solar, and inverters in the last five years, must move beyond public buildings. These initiatives must be scaled into homes and businesses.

As a developer, one of my proudest moments came when a homeowner in one of our two-bedroom units told me her monthly light bill was J$1,000. From day one, our homes are completed with rooftop solar, battery storage, and smart inverters – covering most of the household energy needs. Residents enjoy near-zero utility bills while easing the burden on Jamaica’s ageing grid.

If scaled nationally, with incentives and net-metering, in low- and middle-income communities, this roof-top model could reduce grid stress and consumption by over 60 per cent. This model of distributed energy mirrors regional efforts to embrace renewables. Countries like Guyana and Dominica are proving renewables make economic sense.

OIL RICH BUT SWITCHED

Despite its oil rich status, Guyana has diversified its generation mix since 2022. On Leguan island, in Essequibo River, a new 600kW solar-plus-battery farm was built to provide clean power for over 3,000 residents, at less than US$0.14/kWh. The cost is three times less than diesel plants. But this is only one of eight solar plants, plus rooftop solar capacity totalling 30 MW. Leguan exemplifies Guyana’s commitment to renewable energy.

Dominica also offers lessons. With nine volcanoes, the island has huge geothermal potential. For over two decades, the government invested in drilling and exploration, to build the business case. Just outside the capital, Roseau, both hydro and geothermal generation are under construction. It’s a powerful example of Dominica’s progressive approach to energy. Renewables, are set to past 65 per cent when the 10MW Laudat geothermal plant comes online, cutting diesel imports by half and reducing rates from US$0.35 to US$0.22/kWh. It’s a model of long-term energy leadership.

Guyana and Dominica now post economic growth rates of 18 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. It’s time for Jamaica to break out of its 0.8 per cent rut.

GOING FOR GROWTH

Jamaica has the resources to build a secure, diversified energy mix – but doing so requires progressive leadership, long-term planning and clarity for investors. As Guyana, and Dominica show, electricity independence is achievable with vision and execution.

By scaling homegrown utility energy and empowering households with rooftop systems, Jamaica can stimulate real economic growth. We must flip the switch to renewables and smarter homes, target US$0.22/kWh and finally own our energy destiny.

Christopher Burgess, PhD, is a registered engineer and land developer. He is a council member of the Jamaica Institution of Engineers. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com