100% Renewable Jamaica

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Jamaica currently have the largest wind farm in the English Speaking Caribbean. Kimroy Bailey

 Jamaica, "the Sunshine capital of the Caribbean", "the Windy Tropical escape", "the Land of Wood and Water". Popular lines used to describe our country and coincidentally provides solid proof to the vast resources we can use to produce green, natural, renewable energy. Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources that can replenish itself, such as the wind, the sun, the rain: wind is always blowing, the sun always shines, rain will always cause the rivers to flow etc. Renewable energy generation therefore is converting these natural resources to every day energy such as electricity. 

Jamaica currently generates about 90% of our electrical energy from oil, which is imported at about US$100 per barrel. The island consumed a total of  60,000 barrels of oil PER DAY in 2010! More than 22 MILLION barrels were consumed in that year. With a growing population and an increase in the usage of consumer electronics those figures have sky rocketed since 2010 and will continue to rise.

Jamaica has the potential to stop importing oil  for electrical energy, Yes! STOP importing every single portion of the 60,000+ barrels we use daily for electricity.

The Sun

Solar Farm - Generates energy from the sun

"Aye what a sun hot!" How many times have we had to use  that expression in a given day?... Even in mid winter when most of the globe is freezing its like Jamaica's sun never sets!... This can offset our oil importation bill by 50%, If the  'sunshine capital of the Caribbean' can adopt and apply solar technology to make use of your sunny days and clear blue skies. Jamaica is listed as one of the countries with excellent Solar Thermal Power Plant potential, according to [1]. Countries like Spain, UK and other European nations with large scale solar plants would cherish the opportunity to take advantage of our year-round sunlight exposure.

~ Wind ~

Kimroy Bailey working as a Wind Engineer Intern at the Wigton Wind Farm, Jamaica. 

The Caribbean is ranked among the top three windiest regions across the globe for offshore wind energy harvesting [2]. It is no coincidence therefore that we are prone to an average of 13 tropical storms annually.  

We should Put the Wind to Work for our Country

Offshore Wind turbines on the sea - Produce energy
from the wind

Offshore Wind Energy is generating electricity by placing wind turbines in the sea as can be seen in the photo attached. Since our beautiful country is blessed by being an island this grants us the unique opportunity to research ideal offshore locations around the perimeter of the country to place wind turbines. This will afford us to reserve our land for agriculture, solar and manufacturing and the sea for energy generation to offset another 30% of our oil importation.

Jamaica Tropical Storm Robotic Wind Turbine: Jamaica Placed 2nd in Global Research Competition

Water

Typical river found in the hilly areas of the island

"From river side to mountain, from cane piece to the sea"; Jamaica is one of the most mountainous islands in the Caribbean and boast the highest peak in the English speaking region, with the Blue Mountains. If there is anything synonymous with our high mountains it's strong wind and countless rivers. The Rio Minho, Rio Cobre, Martha Brae, Black River, Dunns River... and the over 100 other strong water bodies across the island posses tons of hydro energy that can be harnessed to supply another 10% of the island's energy demand. 

So we have thus far identified how 90% of Jamaica's electrical energy can be supplied using renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro). Another 5% can be supplied using other forms of sustainable technology such as Biofuel from our sugar factories, Waste to Energy from the Riverton Dump, geothermal from cattle manure and wave energy from the sea. 

Every Jamaican 

Let's unplug our devices and save our energy

The final 5% will be supplied by every Jamaican individually. Renewable technology is pointless if we choose not to reduce our energy consumption. Did you know that in 2009, Jamaica with a population of under 3million consumed more oil than Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Ethiopia COMBINED, with a collective population of 117million [3]! Jamaicans will have to choose not to waste the precision commodity called energy. Natural sources replenishes itself but that does not mean it is by any means free energy. Hence, we will unplug our laptops after use, turn off the lights at nights, the AC in the days, open the windows, or turn it down so you can take your sweater off. UNPLUG: Your TV, DVD, Flat screen, desktop, Microwave, Toaster, phone charger,... before leaving home EVERYDAY. This accounts for up to 30% of your energy bill monthly, these devices have components that suck energy even when we are not in use. so there goes the other 5%... Easy, isn't it?

Save energy in your home: Tips to reduce your monthly energy bill

Without a doubt, this great country most definitely have the ability to be energy self sufficient. Sweden is above 40% totally renewable [4], despite not having as much natural asset as Jamaica is blessed with . So next time we pray to discover oil in Jamaica, or pray for our Electric Company to reduce their rates, lets channel those prayers to having the 'implement'ers capable of using the resources we do have to supply the energy we need. May God Bless or resources, our people, our BEAUTIFUL island; Jamaica Land We Love.

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