One of the reasons for the growing attractiveness of renewables, especially solar, is the fall in prices for the associated equipment, enabling customers and utility companies to embark on the journey to ‘go solar’, at least partially.

Renewable energy or ‘clean’ energy, such as hydro, wind and solar, are rapidly powering their way up the energy agenda and into people’s homes and offices across the globe. In fact, growth in clean energy is increasingly seen as unstoppable.

Statistics produced by the International Energy Agency show that nearly half of all new electricity generation capacity installed in 2014 was clean energy, which constituted the second biggest source of electricity worldwide, behind coal.

One of the reasons for the growing attractiveness of renewables, especially solar, is the fall in prices for the associated equipment, enabling customers and utility companies to embark on the journey to ‘go solar’, at least partially. In this regard, Jamaica has ‘seen the light’ and has been tapping into the opportunities and benefits presented by the solar photovoltaic industry.

Richard Gordon, manager for business development projects at JPS, is a knowledge expert in the industry. He explains that, “The most viable energy projects were previously large-scale energy projects but because of the scale of solar, meaning, it is something that can be done at both a very small scale and a very large scale, there are opportunities not only for the utility and investors but also for customers to make their own investments in energy. Now they are able to produce some of the energy for themselves and, in some cases, all of their energy needs.”

Cognizant, of the global trend, Gordon says that JPS has been enabling Jamaicans to go solar “by making the technology available to customers by offering solutions, doing design installations and providing advice and education to customers on the pros and cons to guide their decision-making when investing in energy”.

He points out that JPS is actually best positioned to provide holistic guidance on going solar for residential and business customers. “We are among the better solution providers mainly because, based on our experience from the utility scale and knowing what it takes to invest in assets and have those assets last you an entire lifetime, and knowing where you need to place due diligence. We take that expertise over into the solar photovoltaic industry and we work to provide the best solutions for our customers and best advice in making their investment,” Gordon asserts.

But competitive advantage aside, doesn’t helping individual customers to go solar eventually put a grid scale utility (largely based on oil) out of business? Gordon says it depends on your business objective. “If you look at it from the original business model of a utility, yes there is conflict, but the conflict comes about because of technology. But if you step back and re-evaluate what your business really is and how it is that you go about creating value for customers and improving service, and once technology allows for a lower cost you should embrace it,” the business development manager insists.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/going-solar-at-home-and-in-business_149389