Jamaica Boosting Its Energy Industry
9.8.2021 21:30:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
The Caribbean’s leader in renewable energy, Jamaica, is making significant strides in boosting the diversification of its energy sector, as the government looks to implement the island’s ambitious Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
The initiative has set a goal of adding around 1,600 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity over the next 20 years to expand the island’s energy resources. The aim is to facilitate reduced energy prices, and decrease vulnerability of the energy sector to external shocks such as oil prices. The IRP creates business opportunities in the form of requests for proposals (RFPs) that seek investors to fulfill the demand for more energy generation.
The IRP’s targets include 1260 MW of wind and solar, 330 MW of liquid natural gas (LNG), and 74 MW of hydro, biomass or waste energy by the year 2037. JAMPRO, Jamaica’s investment promotions agency, is tasked with securing the local and foreign investment that will drive the plan’s success, and the achievement of these targets.
The island is well on its way. Jamaica wants to have 33 per cent of electricity generation from renewables by 2030, and there are already impressive renewable energy projects on the island that are proving to be a strong foundation for the country’s energy resource plan. The 20-megawatt (MW) Content Solar Ltd. solar energy electricity generation plant owned by WRB Energy Company in Clarendon is one such example. In Westmoreland, the largest photovoltaic power plant in Jamaica, the 51 MWp (megawatts-peak) Paradise Park solar farm, is one of the island’s cheapest producers of energy.
There is also the Wigton Windfarm in Rose Hill, Manchester, which is the largest facility of its kind in the Caribbean with a 20.7 MW plant and an 18 MW extension facility. Jamaica’s energy provider, the Jamaica Public Service (JPS)’s Munro Wind Farm has a 3 MW capacity, while Blue Mountain Renewable (BMR) Jamaica Wind generates 34 MW. In St. Elizabeth, the JPS utility company operates a 7.2 MW hydro-electric plant in Maggoty.
Regarding these projects, Don Gittens, JAMPRO’s Manager of Logistics, Energy, and Infrastructure, stated “Current renewable energy projects represent approximately 14 per cent of energy generation in Jamaica, but our target is 50 per cent. There is therefore a significant opportunity because we have that gap between 14 per cent and 50 per cent that we intend to fill with additional renewable energy investments.”
Jamaica is currently seeking to procure 320 MW of wind and solar, 120 MW of LNG and 74 MW of hydro, biomass or waste energy for this year. Gittens elaborated, “That is the opportunity that exists right now for investors, so, these are very exciting times.”
Interest high in Jamaica’s energy sector
According to JAMPRO, there is serious interest in Jamaica’s energy sector. The Agency is entertaining several local and international investors who are interested in partaking in the RFP that is to come with the aforementioned energy generation opportunities.
This interest was maintained by JAMPRO through the pandemic, as the organisation chose to intensify its marketing activities. The company increased its digital outreach and direct engagements with sector leaders and business executives locally and internationally.
Diane Edwards, President of JAMPRO, said, “While there was a feeling of uncertainty, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, we knew that we had to continue to nurture our relationships and the renewable energy opportunity in Jamaica, and increase our marketing activities. COVID-19 re-emphasised the fact that sectors like logistics, energy, and agriculture must be major priorities, so the Jamaican government really used this time to identify the areas that needed even more focus as we continue Jamaica’s development.”
Sector development initiatives have continued, and JAMPRO has partnered with entities like New Energy Events and the REA - The Association for Renewable Energy & Clean Technology in the UK to continue its global promotion of the energy industry. Jamaica has also begun work on the development of an electronic vehicle charging network, confirming the country’s commitment to alternative energy sources.
“This is a very exciting time within the local and global energy sector as everything is moving towards renewable energy,” Gittens enthused. “Once the RFPs are ready, we are confident there will be a lot of investment coming through.”
ABOUT JAMPRO
The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO)’s mission is to drive economic development through growth in investment and export. JAMPRO is an Agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce.
For more information on JAMPRO, please visit https://dobusinessjamaica.com/.
Follow us on:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210809005015/en/
Contact information
Integrated Marketing Communications
Tamica Parchment
tparchment@jamprocorp.com
Tele: 876-978-7755
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Blue Matter Launches Behavioral Science Center of Excellence to Decode and Predict Health Care Decisions in a Rapidly Evolving Biopharma Landscape30.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Blue Matter today announced the launch of its Behavioral Science Center of Excellence (BeSci CoE), a specialized capability within the Blue Matter Insights primary market research team. The CoE applies behavioral science as a strategic lens to decode the “why” behind the decisions made by healthcare professionals, patients, care partners, and other stakeholders. Biopharma decisions hinge on knowing why customers do what they do. Traditional research does a good job of capturing what stakeholders say but often misses the unconscious drivers, biases, emotions, and contexts that shape behavior. The result is an incomplete picture in the moments where clarity matters most, including when developing positioning strategies, planning product launches, and making major lifecycle decisions. "You don't need a survey to tell you that physicians see efficacy as the most important treatment decision driver," said Andrew Pilecki, Ph.D., Senior Market Research Director at Blue Matter. "What our clien
934 Embeds Bluefin Payment Security into Juno to Advance Secure, Connected Hospitality Payments30.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Bluefin, a global leader in payment and data security, and 934, a global provider of connected payment technology for the hospitality industry, today announced a partnership to integrate Bluefin’s payment security capabilities into Juno, 934’s hospitality payment platform. Hospitality businesses increasingly operate across connected payment environments spanning hotels, restaurants, resorts and other guest experiences. Behind those interactions are multiple systems, workflows and payment technologies that must work together while protecting sensitive payment data. Juno is designed to connect those experiences through a unified hospitality payment environment. By incorporating Bluefin’s security technology into the platform architecture, 934 can provide customers globally with access to PCI-validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) for card-present payments and tokenization for protecting sensitive payment data. The result is a security-first approach in which payment protection is bui
Blackfuel Emerges From Stealth with More Than $250 Million in Contracted Revenue to Build a Global AI Token Grid30.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Blackfuel today emerged from stealth with more than $250 million in contracted revenue under multi-year customer agreements, unveiling its ambition to build a global AI Token Grid. Pioneering the AI Token Grid, Blackfuel is building a network of architecture-specific accelerator clusters connected through a common software and commercial layer, designed to turn dedicated compute into measurable, reservable AI output. By collaborating with AMD and NTT DATA, Blackfuel is developing its European-operated inference capacity, beginning with a GPU cluster currently being delivered in Europe. "The cloud was built around virtual machines. The next infrastructure layer will be built around tokens. We are building Blackfuel to become one of the world's defining AI compute companies, starting with our first deployments in Europe. That means bringing industrial-scale infrastructure, software and capital together so customers can buy intelligence with the same predictability with which they buy pow
Visioneering Technologies' New Contact Lens Trial Shows Landmark Results in Slowing Children's Nearsightedness30.9.2026 15:59:00 EEST | Press release
Visioneering Technologies, Inc. (VTI), a medical device company that designs and markets specialty contact lenses, will announce completed three-year results from PROTECT, a prospective, double-masked, multinational randomized controlled trial evaluating the company's NaturalVue® (etafilcon A) Multifocal 1 Day Contact Lens for slowing the progression of myopia, or nearsightedness, in children. Ashley Tuan, OD, MS, PhD, VTI's Chief Medical Officer, will present the full findings at the American Academy of Optometry's annual meeting in Anaheim. Myopia develops when a child's eye grows too long, causing distant objects to appear blurry, and it typically worsens through childhood. Faster progression is associated with a higher lifelong risk of more serious eye conditions, including retinal detachment and myopic maculopathy, a leading cause of permanent vision loss. Slowing that progression, even modestly, is considered clinically meaningful.3,4 Over three years, children who wore NaturalVu
Lyft App Launches in Europe30.9.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Starting today, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) riders can use their Lyft app in cities across Europe. Early access to the Lyft app rolls out in Barcelona and Hamburg first; throughout October, the Lyft app will become available for riders to use in some of Europe’s largest cities including London, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Athens, and Warsaw. By the end of October riders visiting Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, France, and Germany will have one go-to app when they cross the Atlantic, building on the foundations from this past summer beta testing the Lyft app in Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930010726/en/ The Lyft app is now available in Europe “Millions of riders across North America trust Lyft to get them where they’re going every day. Now that same app works the moment they land in Europe. No need to download anything new,” said Sid Patil, Lyft’s Chief Rideshare and Marketplac
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom