The removal of customs duty on solar water heater parts and light emitting diode (LED) bulbs is being hailed by players in the energy sector.

“This has the potential to promote increased customer uptake that can result in greater utilisation of renewable energy sources and significant savings in the country’s energy bill,” said Roger Chang, immediate past president of the Jamaica Solar Energy Association (JSEA).

The possibility of importing the parts for solar water heaters duty-free and then assembling them locally may positively impact the price at which the energy-saving devices are sold to consumers, Chang added.

Appliance Traders Limited’s Business Development Manager in charge of energy, Shani Duncan-Falconer, agreed. The company, she said yesterday, will be assessing the viability of the move with the intention of passing on the possible savings to its customers.

The Government announced the removal of the customs duty last week in a move that Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips said was in keeping with amendments to the Customs Tariff Revision (Resolution).

The removal of the duty also supports “the Government’s overall policy of encouraging energy conservation and the use of the most up-to-date and energy-efficient technologies in this regard,” Phillips said in Parliament last Wednesday.

Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell has described the move as “a major boost to the country’s policy of encouraging energy conservation and promoting the use of renewable energy”.

“The decision to remove the tariff will not only encourage the increased use of cutting-edge energy-efficient technologies, but can be a tremendous stimulant to the local production of energy-efficient and renewable energy devices,” Paulwell said in an e-mailed response to the Business Observer.

Pointing to what obtains in Barbados, Paulwell reckons that the potential also exists for manufacturers to import the parts and cost-effectively assemble these items here in Jamaica, both for domestic consumption and export.

Supported by fiscal incentives from the Government, Barbados boasts more than 50,000 solar water heater installations and saves over 100,000 kWh of energy per year, according to a 2012 policy brief released by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network.

In 2001 alone, Barbados is reported to be accountable for 80 per cent of solar water heaters manufactured in the region and over 60 per cent of those used in the Caribbean.

The national energy policy has set a target to have at least 12.5 per cent of the country’s electrical generating capacity being provided by renewable energy by the end of 2015.

With the removal of customs duty on solar water heater parts, systems like this one at the University of Technology, Jamaica, installed by Alternative Power Sources, will become more affordable.