THE Jamaica Solar Energy Association (JSEA) says it will continue to press the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to reopen the process for unsolicited bids for up to 25 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, which was suspended almost two years ago.

The association says that the explanation given by the OUR at the time, was that unsolicited bidding could not run simultaneously with the request for proposal (RFP) for the Government’s 115-megawatt (MW) renewable energy project because there could be an overlap.

Still, the JSEA is adamant that the mechanism was only supposed to have been suspended for three months, but nearly two years later the stakeholders are still out in the cold.

It does not appear that this will change any time soon, as the regulator told the Jamaica Observer that the Request for Proposal (RFP) process is now “the only opportunity that exists for submitting a renewable energy proposal”. With 78 MW of the 115MW already satisfied, 37MW is still up for grabs, but those in charge say it will not come from unsolicited bids.

The OUR further stated that it has been instructed by Cabinet to complete the procurement process. To that end, a request for comments for the proposed, RFP for the remaining capacity has been published in the local and international press, and on the OUR’s website.

President of the JSEA David Barrett explained that, when the association demanded answers from the OUR on the prolonged suspension, the regulator explained that: “Bidders under the 115 MW were deemed to be at a disadvantage as they had to attain a higher level of rigour in their bids and stricter timelines while unsolicited bids would engage in direct negotiations with the utility and OUR. Pricing targets were also different. The OUR

would also be challenged coping with both

matters requiring attention.

The suspension was therefore effected for a

short duration to allow completion of the 115 MW RFP”.

Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell told

the Sunday Observer that there was no room for unsolicited bids, as these did not promote fair competition. “The only thing that I’m aware of that is to happen is that the remaining amount is to be competitively procured by the OUR,” he commented, pointing out that in any event, the 37 MW is restricted to waste to energy, not sources that are as intermittent as wind and solar.

Paulwell said that he recalls that there had been a “policy position” about allowing 25MW to be brought onto the grid, through unsolicited bidding, but the idea had been rejected.

“That did not envision a competitively derived process. We have decided that the way to do this is through competition. So whenever we go out there for capacity, it will be certainly in excess of 25 and it certainly will be competitively derived. We are not encouraging unsolicited bids. This process works and we get the technology that is most suited, based on competition,” he stated.

However, Barrett insists that quality bids are available among the JSEA’s membership, and that the OUR and the grid owner — the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPSCo) — has the option of rejecting substandard bids. Furthermore, he pointed out, the provision for unsolicited bids has not been removed from the procurement mechanisms.

“Therefore, it still applies, and should be effected,” he argued, noting that before the process was halted, up to four such bids were submitted, inclusive of wind, solar, and cogeneration capacity. “Two of them I know very well. The discussions and proposals were far advanced — they were not one-pagers,” the association head asserted.

The already contracted projects, which are in various stages of implementation, include: 34MW of capacity from wind power at Munro, St Elizabeth, by Blue Mountain Renewables; 24MW of wind power from Wigton Wind Farm, at Rose Hill, Manchester; and 20MW of solar power from facilities in Content Village, Clarendon.

It is expected that energy from renewable sources should reduce the country’s oil bill by US$55 million, and yield 12.5 per cent of electricity capacity from renewables. This is supposed to bring the country to almost 50 per cent of its goal of 30 per cent of energy generated from alternative sources, over the next 15 years.