Finding alternative sources of energy is a priority: Jamaica PM

With Jamaica’s oil bill set to pass the US$-billion mark this year, the need to find and utilise alternative sources of energy must become a priority, said the prime minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson Miller.

Speaking last Thursday at the official opening of JB Ethanol, Jamaica Broilers’ ethanol dehydration plant at Port Esquivel, St Catherine, the prime minister said: “Finding appropriate and affordable sources of energy is a major challenge for countries like ours. It is a challenge we must tackle in order to increase production, improve productivity and compete globally.
“Jamaica depends far too heavily on imported oil as our source of energy. Our oil bill has risen dramatically over the last five years as oil prices continue to increase and there seems to be no end in sight. Last year our oil bill was US$1.7 billion.”

Underscoring her point is the fact that the transportation sector uses 41 per cent of imported fuels followed by the bauxite and alumina production sector, which accounts for 35 per cent and electricity power generation, which takes up another 19 per cent.

The challenge presented to Jamaica is the efficient use of available energy resources while it explores the viability of alternative fuels. At a bio-fuels seminar put on by the Brazilian Embassy at the Jamaica Pegasus last week, castor beans were identified as a viable bio-fuel to be produced locally and used as a cost-effective way to cut Jamaica’s growing energy bill.

Jamaican businesses, like the rest of the world, are beginning to take seriously the merits of ethanol.
Jamaica Broilers has invested J$1.3 billion in its plant with the equipment supplied by the Brazilian company Dedini and raw materials by Bauche Energy, also from Brazil. This ethanol dehydration plant can produce 60 million gallons of fuel grade ethanol annually.

Jamaica Observer