Caribbean Broilers Group (CB) has invested millions in the development of four solar photovoltaic (solar PV) power plants for its farms across the island, through a deal struck with newbie company Soleco Energy Jamaica Limited.

On Tuesday, the company unveiled one of the four solar plants at the Peninsula Hatchery Farms in Linstead, St Catherine. It has the capacity to produce 0.30 megawatt peak (MWp). CB has also commissioned solar plants at the CB Foods Cold Storage Distribution Centre, Freetown: 1.1 MWp; Newport Mills, Kingston: 0.50 MWp; and the Caribbean Hatchery in Old Harbour, St Catherine: 0.2 MWp.

Annually, it’s expected to minimise the company’s energy usage by an average 25 per cent. But CEO of CB Group Matthew Lyn insists that the solar development isn’t necessarily a cost-savings play.

“CB has been a big believer in sustainability for a long time; it has driven a lot of the decisions and investments we’ve made. We are a champion for climate change; it is very obvious that the world is changing because it’s getting hotter and hotter every year, and then you’ll get tons of rain, and so we are intentional about doing things to promote and inspire change. Take, for example, where the plant is positioned, this plant [is] dead centre of the highway so it would spark a conversation; this is a large property and we could have easily placed it at the back of the property,” Lyn told the Jamaica Observer during the official launch of the plant on Tuesday.

Still, such a project enables the company to manage costs, eventually leading to more stable prices for consumers.

“So much of our costs are in things that we can’t control, particularly livestock and poultry. A lot of our costs are based on grain costs which we bring in from the international markets. The war in Ukraine has affected our grain costs, COVID has also affected our grain costs and so we, just like every producer, are at the mercy of things like weather and politics… Jamaica being a small island and us being small company, I think we have to try much harder to maintain costs, and projects like this, even though cost savings is not the driver here, we are always going to be looking at our costs to see how we can become more efficient, as well as to maintain our prices,” he continued.

With the successful completion of the ‘Power Up’ project, CB Group’s total network production has now reached 3.8 MW, solidifying its position as Jamaica’s largest corporate producer of renewable energy.

CB’s foray into sustainable energy dates back some 10 years, when the company commissioned small installations at different facilities. Building on those successes, CB entered an agreement with Soleco in 2020 for the construction of a combined 2.1 megawatts solar plants, which has propelled the company to the top spot in sustainable energy production and usage across corporate companies in the island, Lyn said. The company is also keen on investing in waste water management system, waste management systems, as well as working with small companies that embrace sustainability.

Established in 2019, Soleco Energy Limited focuses on developing power projects for commercial and industrial clients across the Caribbean.The company has played a key role in developing the Paradise Park project, the largest solar plant in the English-speaking Caribbean. It has since been involved in several other notable projects.

“Soleco is pleased to have been selected by CB Group to be their partner in its deployment of solar PV across four of their facilities. The aggregate 2.1MWp solar installation is the largest in Jamaica completed by any industrial group to date and one of the largest in the Caribbean region. This project showcases Soleco’s pioneering business model to provide solar and energy storage expertise to companies in the region and our firm commitment to achieving sustainability goals,” Angella Rainford, CEO of Soleco, said.

CB’s solar project was also lauded by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green.

“It took an agricultural company to take the lead in solar energy,” he said during his remarks.

CB Group has been at the forefront of agricultural innovation for over 40 years. The company is known for its products and services in animal genetics, nutrition, and integrated feed and food production. The brands produced under the CB Group include CB Chicken, Copperwood Pork, Caribbean Passion, Bad Dawg, Chippenham Eggs and Smart Eggs, and its livestock and animal feeds, Nutramix, Front Runner and True Pet Foods.

“This project is a testament to link between the energy sector and agriculture. It also shows the power of collaboration because of Soleco, we were able to do this much faster…” Lyn said.