WHILE there is a projection of the energy industry being more client-driven with multiple revenue streams come 2030, some of the island’s solar business operators believe that the industry is already at that stage.

Their comments come after director for business development at Pivot Energy Company Kacie Peters discussed the different stages of the energy industry during her session, ‘What will be the solar company of 2030 look like?’ during the renewable energy event, RE+ held at California recently.

“I think customers are going to come to the realisation and start embracing the technology as we go along. Clients are becoming more aware of what is available in the market space, so it’s really in a lot of ways client-driven, as far as I am seeing. They are the ones telling you what they want at this time,” Director of Premier Energy Solution Trevor Bernard told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

Morris Hutchinson, who is the managing director at Alternative Energy Plus, shared a similar view, noting that the ‘smartness’ of technology will evolve based on the demand of clients.

“The smartness of it is really what a lot of clients are driving at, and the size and aesthetics is a big part of what persons are looking to fit more into their houses. You, the customer, will determine what we will have to provide,” he said.

Meanwhile secretary at Construction Energy, Michelle Stewart, explained that, while clients are interested in solar energy, there is a lack of financing which prevents them from obtaining energy efficient solutions.

“At this moment, I think we are already client-driven. More persons are getting into solar, based on the high JPS [Jamaica Public Service] bills that they are getting. What most persons really need is help with financing solar for them to have it at their homes. More persons want to come on board, but the issue is financing,” she said.

At the conference, Peters told the Observer that more energy storage systems, smart metres and tourism will improve Jamaica’s energy industry.

“I think storage is going to be absolutely key, because we have seen in California there is a certain grid penetration. I also think smart metres and being able to control some of the assets to be able to incentivise people to put power on the grid when needed and remove when it doesn’t,” she explained.

“I think Jamaica has a very big tourism industry with well recognised brands which are constantly serving customers, they can drive the change because they are well capitalised to say, ‘Hey, look, we want these new things, we are sophisticated, our guests are thinking about how they are using power.’ Even if their guests aren’t thinking about using power, they know how much energy they are using. They are going to look at costs and be prompted by customer trends, and I think other industries in the island will follow,” she added.

According to Peters, the energy industry is currently in the finance era, as there is much focus on community solar markets, State incentives, project/installation size and creditworthy homeowners and institutions.

“Since we are in the net finance era you might be more engaged with your customers and your engagement with that customer is to get the most out of that asset, not to get the most out of that customer. What we are going to see in the future is ongoing engagements because we are finally able to cross-sell,” she said.

“Most people only have one roof, so if you only sold solar you could only sell them one thing. But, in the solar company of the future, we are going to be selling distributed energy services or grid services along with other things that it make sense to be hyper client focus, we are going to have more account managers and consolidation,” she said.

A little over a decade ago, close to 90 per cent of Jamaica’s electricity was generated using heavy fuel oil. At that time, the Government set a target of generating 20 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

That target was later increased to 33 per cent by 2030 and now 50 per cent by 2037.