GRANT…we don’t have the posh, as I did after I was in New York, of simply pulling from a neighbouring state. We’ve got to get it proper the primary time (Photographs: Aston Spaulding)
WITH a profession spanning over 25 years within the world power sector, Hugh Grant, the brand new president and CEO of Jamaica Public Service Firm (JPS), is advocating for a measured method to Jamaica’s transition in the direction of renewable power.
Talking at a Jamaica Chamber of Commerce breakfast discussion board on Friday, Grant championed the shift to renewables however cautioned towards pointless haste, citing grid stability considerations and classes from worldwide power transitions.
“We’ve got to watch out of how we transition so we don’t compromise reliability and resiliency,” Grant acknowledged. “And now we have seen this performed out globally, so right here in Jamaica, allow us to not make the identical errors.”
Jamaica has set an formidable goal of fifty per cent renewable power by 2030 — a big leap from the roughly 12 per cent achieved as of 2023. The Authorities goals to scale back reliance on imported fossil fuels and promote environmental sustainability — a imaginative and prescient the brand new CEO helps. Nevertheless, Grant emphasised that the transition have to be methodical and backed by important infrastructure investments. He drew comparisons to world markets, highlighting how Germany and California struggled with their power transitions.
“Have a look at what occurred in Germany. Look what’s taking place in California,” he mentioned. “There was a really quick transition to renewables. Retirement of nuclear crops, now not allowed to burn fossil gasoline, and so they have been having points with fixed outages because of the intermittent nature of renewables. And what occurred? You begin bringing again nuclear crops and also you begin coping with extra thermal power.”
Jamaica, Grant emphasised, doesn’t have the posh of having the ability to import electrical energy like New York, the place he beforehand labored as a senior power govt.
“In New York I used to be a system operator. I may use a thousand megawatts — that’s greater than all of Jamaica. And if I wanted extra energy all I needed to do was take two faucets of what we name a section angle regulator, a tool that strikes energy, and import energy from New Jersey,” he defined.
Jamaica, nonetheless, is an power island, that means that if the grid falters there is no such thing as a back-up provide from neighbouring international locations.
“We don’t have the posh, as I did after I was in New York, of simply pulling from a neighbouring state. We’ve got to get it proper the primary time.”
Success, Grant says, lies in balancing the tempo of adoption with investments in grid resiliency and power storage. Additional, he confused that decision-makers have to be conscious of making certain a diversified mixture of renewables.
“For instance, what occurs when the photo voltaic just isn’t there? We may have wind generators. We’re going to have a diversified set of renewables with the intention to higher assist us to get there — to a extra resilient place,” he instructed the Jamaica Observer in a quick interview following the operate.
JPS is at present executing a 170-megawatt battery power storage challenge however Grant made it clear that this alone just isn’t sufficient.
“We’d like longer-duration battery storage to totally unlock the potential of renewables,” he mentioned. “Proper now, battery storage is 4 to eight hours, at greatest. Renewables, unbiased of power storage, just isn’t a dependable and resilient answer,” he asserted.
Lately a number of giant producers, together with Crimson Stripe, Wisynco, and Rainforest Seafoods, have opted to generate their very own electrical energy utilizing renewable sources, successfully exiting the nationwide grid. This development, often called grid defection, is pushed by the will to realize power value financial savings and improve operational reliability. Nevertheless, Workplace of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has famous that a few of these firms are experiencing “deep regrets” over their resolution because the substantial capital investments required for self-generation could not yield the anticipated advantages.
“Individuals underestimate what it takes, by way of value, to take care of and function, say, a microturbine,” Grant mentioned. “After I was in New York, hospitals and high-rise buildings tried grid defection. 5, six years later all of them got here operating again as a result of the associated fee to take care of that sort of apparatus is many occasions underestimated.”
Additional, he defined that as extra giant firms depart the grid, the associated fee burden may shift to smaller companies and residential clients.
“We have already got a set value. That fastened value could be distributed over many or over just a few. If it’s distributed over many, we decrease the value per buyer. If it’s over just a few, charges will go up.”
Grant famous that coverage adjustments are mandatory to make sure that companies keep a minimum of partially related to the grid, decreasing dangers for the broader financial system.
Within the meantime, the CEO has dedicated to upgrading JPS’s grid infrastructure to face up to extra excessive climate occasions — a choice spurred by Hurricane Beryl’s affect on Jamaica.
“Presently, the grid is designed to face up to a class 3 hurricane. Beryl was a class 4, and we noticed the affect that had, so going ahead we’re designing for a class 5.”
This transition, nonetheless, will take a number of years and important funding.
“Actuality is, now we have over 14,000 kilometres of distribution strains and over 3,000 kilometres of transmission strains. That’s numerous infrastructure to interchange,” he famous.
From left: Circulate Vice-President and Common Supervisor Stephen Worth; president and CEO of Jamaica Public Service (JPS), Hugh Grant; president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Phillip Ramson; and vice-president, Jamaica Broilers, Hello-Professional Division, Jamie Ogilvie have interaction in a dialogue forward of JCC’s Breakfast Dialog Collection on Friday. The occasion, which was held at Terra Nova All-Suite Lodge in St Andrew, featured Grant and was moderated by broadcast journalist and attorney-at-law Dionne Jackson-Miller.
