Initial awardees emerge in Jamaica renewable energy call

Jamaica’s government has pre-awarded bids in a request for proposals to supply 100MW from renewable energy.

The bids were submitted by SunTerra Energy Jamaica and Wigton Wind Farm for solar projects in the parishes of Trelawny and Clarendon, respectively, information from the Generation Procurement Entity (GPE) shows.

SunTerra offered net capacity of 50MW and Wigton 49.83MW.

In case the pre-awarded bids fall through, the runners up are Blue Mahoe Energy, and Jamaica Energy Partners and InterEnergy Renewables, which also presented solar projects, each of 50MW.

GPE received a total of 12 proposals, all solar, for nearly 400MW. Bid details, including pricing, are available in the Documents box in the top-right corner of the screen.

Power purchase agreements will be for 20 years and may be renewed for up to six more, subject to approval from the Office of Utilities Regulation. 

Power utility Jamaica Public Service will be the offtaker.

The next stage is the opening of technical proposals of the pre-awarded bids, followed by the announcement of successful bidders, after which the period to obtain the generation license and negotiate and execute the PPA would begin.

The call was issued in May 2023 and the government plans to launch a second process for 168MW this year.

The country’s renewable energy target is 50% by 2030. Current installed capacity reaches 1,041MW, of which 83% is thermal, primarily natural gas, and the remainder renewables (wind, hydro and solar).