Jamaica’s Minister Samuda Reinforces Country’s Position to Incent Energy Leaders

June 24, 2011 - PRLog -- (Toronto) –  Solamon CEO Graeme Boyce, in the wake of a recent Toronto visit by the Honourable Karl Samuda, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce for Jamaica, is pleased to announce the company will be returning to the island to host a series of  forums and  meet new clients.  “I was extremely happy to hear the minister state that Jamaica is prepared to offer any incentive necessary to ensure the introduction and success of new alternative energy projects,” says Boyce.  “This clearly reinforces the government’s position that renewable energy plants generating less than 15MW would be able to operate on a ‘no objection’ basis, which is great news for us.”

Minister Samuda was speaking to Canadian business leaders at an event co-sponsored by Scotiabank and headed a Jamaican delegation that included George Ramocan, Consul General to Toronto, Milverton Reynolds, Managing Director, Development Bank of Jamaica, and Sancia Templer, JAMPRO President.  Joining Boyce were SVP Ainsley Brown and SVP Christian Giles; Brown also met with Her Excellency Sheila Monteith, Jamaica’s High Commissioner to Canada, and Giles met with Michael Thompson, SVP, Corporate and Commercial Banking, Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica (Scotiabank), to discuss financing requirements that will enable Jamaica to meet its energy objectives.

Jamaica, the largest English-speaking economy in the Caribbean, enjoys an advanced telecommunications, shipping and transportation infrastructure, making it the ideal location for Solamon’s Western Caribbean headquarters.  “We’re certainly looking to open a field office in Jamaica in 2011,” Boyce continues, “and looking in the mid-term to establish a light manufacturing and distribution facility in one of the islands and have already identified several ideal spots.  While we grow, and begin to establish operations in Latin and South America, being centrally located within the Caribbean, Jamaica provides a very good nearshore opportunity for us.”

In the meantime, Solamon executives are also meeting civic and business leaders in other countries to discuss implementing 2MW solar arrays, as well as innovative hybrid energy solutions, including biodiesel, geothermal and wind technologies.

“We have been encouraged to step up our operations on the island,” concludes Boyce, “based on the content of these recent meetings and the fantastic response to our specific questions.”

Solamon Energy designs and installs integrated arrays of ground-mounted photovoltaic cells that are connected by cable to each other and to converters, batteries and transmission points, utilizing 5 acres of land per unit; each unit is called an Apollo Acre™.  The company intends to not only deliver turnkey power plants to Caribbean countries using renewable energy sources, such as sun and wind, but that they will also generate jobs locally, in terms of unit commissioning and subsequent maintenance.
Solamon seeks to operate additional field offices in The Bahamas, Barbados and Puerto Rico.