Vaz vows ‘more renewables are coming’
Minister defends Gov’t’s commitment to advancing alternative energy sector
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 9:54 PMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Declaring that Jamaica has made significant progress in renewable energy expansion, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says the continued growth of the sector will make the island energy independent and less vulnerable to global volatility in fuel prices in the medium to long term.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, Vaz, who said he was seeking to dispel “disinformation” about the Government’s commitment to advancing the sector, stated that the increase in electricity prices between 2016 and 2024 was not due to a lack of renewable energy deployment.
Rather, he said the price increase was because of global factors such as fossil fuel volatility, inflation, supply chain disruptions, and geo-political issues.
He noted that from 2016 to 2017, electricity rates were at 22 US cents to 25 US cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) at a time when international crude prices were just under US$45 per barrel.
However, in the period 2018 to 2020, a gradual increase occurred, with rates moving from 28 US cents to 31 US cents per kWh, while international crude prices ranged from US$71 to US$63 per barrel.
“As global stability declined, by 2021–2022 there was a significant spike to 36 US cents per kWh in 2022 coinciding with global energy market disruptions, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and post-pandemic energy demand surge. International crude prices were from US$70 to US$100 per barrel – almost double that of 2016,” Vaz said.
He noted there was a decline back to 31 US cents per kWh, in 2023 as elevated fossil fuel prices started to decline and stabilise. However, international crude prices were about US$83 per barrel over 80 per cent higher than 2016 crude prices.
AN INCREASE
Promising that “more renewables are coming”, Vaz pointed to the Government’s 2018 commitment to achieve an integration of at least 50 per cent of Jamaica’s generation energy requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030 – an increase from the previously declared 30 per cent target in April 2017.
“By December 2024, renewable energy capacity stood at 188 megawatt (MW), generating an estimated 481,432 MWh annually, accounting for 10 per cent of total electricity production. While, in 2016 renewables capacity represented seven per cent of total grid generation,” he noted.
He stated that the Electricity Regulations, 2022, accelerated distributed renewable energy adoption, with 436 new renewable systems licensed, adding 8.5 MW of new capacity.
“In November 2024, the generation procurement entity (GPE) awarded 99.83 MW of new solar capacity contract to Wigton Energy Limited and Sunterra Energy Jamaica Limited, supporting the 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030,” he said.
Vaz, who is also minister of science, telecommunications and transport, said both bidders have obtained their generation licences and their implementation schedule completion is expected by 2027.
“An additional 220 MW of utility-scale renewables with storage will be competitively procured in 2025, alongside JPS’s replacement of 171.5 MW of retiring fossil fuel units using only renewables, which will bring renewable electricity generation close to 48 per cent when the projects are connected to the grid,” he said.
RATING
The minister outlined that, last year, Jamaica moved up eight places in the Bloomberg NEF Climate scope report, ranking 10th in Latin America and the Caribbean for renewable energy investment attractiveness.
He further noted that the updated integrated resource plan, approved by Cabinet and published in 2024, outlines a cost-effective and reliable energy transition towards the 2030 goal by prioritising wind, hydro, and solar photovoltaic as primary energy sources; and, battery energy storage systems for grid stability, reliability and efficiency.
At the same, Vaz asserted that the anti-clean energy rhetoric of United States President Donald Trump will not distract Jamaica from doing the “right thing”, in this critical area.
“The world has agreed on what is required to make the world a better place and, of course, energy is a big part of it, clean energy,” he said.
“We’ll always have a divergence of opinion from time to time but I think that it well established that what we are doing like so many other countries is the right thing and right way to go, and I am sure that at the end of the day we will all work it out to ensure that the world is a better place,” he said.
Vaz in the meantime, also noted that a joint select committee of Parliament has reviewed the law governing Jamaica’s power system (Electricity Act, 2015), and that the recommendations are being finalised for tabling in Parliament.
“The Government’s measurable achievements, policy advancements, and strategic investments in renewables underscore its commitment to achieving an evidence-based, sustainable, affordable, and resilient energy future for Jamaica,” he said.