CONSUMERS of electri-city can save up to 230kWh on their monthly bills with the hybrid solar mill power generators launched by the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) yesterday.

That would be equivalent to $9,430 since JPS currently charges $41 per kWh.

According to Kelly Tomblin, president and CEO of JPS, the three products — available under the brands PowerStar, PowerStar+ and PowerOn — are among the first renewable hybrid solar and wind power generator now being distributed in the Caribbean.

“This is our next step. We want to offer Jamaicans new energy solution products and we thought the solar mill would have been a great solution option for Jamaicans,” she told the Jamaica Observer after her address at the launch, held at the JPS Sports Club at the utility provider’s offices on Ruthven Road in St Andrew.

Tomblin said the hybrid generators hold numerous benefits for both residential and commercial customers.

“We are committed to providing a variety of solutions, and this is a solution our customers have been asking for. They ask for an alternative to save their consumption expenses and we are particularly excited that this product will be one of the solutions we have to offer,” Tomblin said.

The Solar Mill PowerOn model, which produces 40kWh per month, comes with a capital cost of approximately $299,999; PowerStar has a capacity of 120kWh and costs roughly $449,000; while PowerStar+ has a production capacity of 230kWh and costs around $599,000.

Tomblin told Environment Watch that JPS wants the products to be within their customers’ reach and, as a

result, interested buyers have the opportunity of accessing loans for their purchase through CIBCFirstCaribbean Bank, First Global Bank, Jamaica Money Market Brokers, Royal Bank of the Caribbean, Sagicor Bank, Scotiabank, the Development Back of Jamaica and Victoria Mutual Building Society. The monthly payments, she said, will be as low as $10,000.

JPS has been testing the three models for the last seven months. One was installed at the Ruthven Road location, which can be seen from Half-Way-Tree Road, and according to Garth McKenzie, JPS’s sales and marketing director, it has stood the test of “some tough conditions”.

“We installed a unit at our eSTORE location on Ruthven Road. Our commercial and residential customers can rest assured because the solar mill has faced some tough conditions over the last few months, including heavy rains, large cloud cover, as well as extremely low winds in the middle of Half-Way-Tree, and has performed beyond our expectations,” McKenzie said prior to yesterday’s launch.

“It has been powering the eSTORE consistently since its installation, producing about 230kWh per month,” he added.

The mills are available for purchasing at the JPS eSTORE.