Incentives could spark solar sales, but gov’t not inclined
THE HIGH cost of batteries for solar systems is retarding Jamaica’s potential to store energy from renewable sources, at least two dealers have lamented. But it appears that the Government will not yield to their appeals for incentives to make it cheaper.
Troy Moo Young, a 35-yearold solar dealer, says the average Jamaican householder paying $7,000 a month to the Jamaica Public Service Company could save thousands of dollars over time if he is able to find $650,000 to set up solar panels at home.
However, the energy would fade at sunset if the homeowner does not buy specially designed batteries for an additional $400,000 to store the solar-generated power.
As a result, many people with solar panels at home still keep their Jamaica Public Service (JPS) system, to which they switch over at nights.
RETURNED TO JAMAICA
It is an issue with which Moo Young, the manager of Get Sol Warehouse in St Andrew, has been wrestling since 2012 when he returned to Jamaica from England to enter the energy market.
So, what’s the fix?
Moo Young believes that it’s time the Government commit to longterm incentives to encourage people to procure batteries to store solargenerated electricity.
Current duty-free exemptions on batteries are set to expire within two years and other taxes are still applicable to the product.
“Energy storage is getting extremely important now,” Moo Young told The Gleaner at the 2019 Solar Power International Trade Show in Salt Lake City in the United States.
But it appears that the Government is not considering incentives for batteries for solar systems.
“The Government has been moving away from incentives in favour of a general lowering of taxes,” Energy Minister Fayval Williams told The Gleaner, adding that handpicking the solar sector for special incentives would run counter to the administration’s policy.