solar energy!!!

[hebrew sista]

ok i been here about 10 days or so and im thinking hey the sun shines here ALL the time just about so why isnt solar power utilized moreso than electric energy??

from my research it appears that the island gets its energy from burning fuel which has got to cost an arm and a leg right about now, so why doesnt the government do more to promote the use of solar energy?

the government themselves do use solar power, but not to the greater extent that they could http://www.mct.gov.jm/energy_4.htm.

heck theres even a store in westmoreland that sells all the solar stuff, even solar powered refrigerators and washing machines!!

and i called and found out that the government does offer some sort of a waiver to anybody that uses solar power, so heres a thought; why not make a small investment in something thats yours to keep instead of paying high electric bills every month?? the sun is free right??

man i cant WAIT to find me a peice of land and buy me a solar kit that will power just about everything i normally use!

[nuhsenutten]

to over haul the entire country's power stations into solar power plant is very expensive ...the overhead cost of this venture would b recovered in a few yrs but it seems no one is willing to look at the long term future.......they might just wait untill we cant afford to buy the oil before serious steps are taken......

the cost to run an average 3 bedroom house on solar power requires nearly 1.5 million JMD ...which is much more than most families ca afford....if the venture was to b taken on by individual households..........

another problem is the storing of the excess power produced as you would probably never use the total amt of what u garner thru the entire day

[Drew]

cause the investment isn't small. solar technology start up costs is huge. i called 2 companies earlier this year and was quoted 1.5mil for my house to run soley off solar power. so imagine major buildings or for the entire country, you're talking billions of dollars right there.

but i agree with you, with the oil prices these days it would be much cheaper and envrironmentally friendly in the long run.

jamaica has been trying the alternative energy thing (eg. windmills in mandeville) but this stuff takes alot of time and money.

[hebrew sista]

i see what you mean i really do

but me? i aint planning on having a 3 bedroom house, nor am i wanting to make my home totally solar energy ready.

oh and heres something i read, starting next month your local energy company will begin BUYING BACK any unused energy those who utilize solar power have! i bet its even possible to sell so much unused energy back to the electric company that you end up not even having an electricity bill at all if you use solar power.


yes the initial cost is high, but as i said you end up paying the very same amount over time if you stick with 100% electrical by paying the bill every month.

and like you said, maybe all the petro has to be totally gone before anybody actually looks at solar power a lot more closely.

oh and your figures are a bit off; according to the solar store, you can get a basic solar set up for only 184,531.91 JA

[hebrew sista]

drew the thing is, you dont start out making your entire home solar powered, just a fraction of it eh? thats how i plan to do mine. cant wait to get that solar powered washer though lol

[Drew]

well, jamaican's have a thing for short term investment. we rather think about today than tomorow.

[ramesh]

to over haul the entire country's power stations into solar power plant is very expensive ...the overhead cost of this venture would b recovered in a few yrs but it seems no one is willing to look at the long term future.......they might just wait untill we cant afford to buy the oil before serious steps are taken......

the cost to run an average 3 bedroom house on solar power requires nearly 1.5 million JMD ...which is much more than most families ca afford....if the venture was to b taken on by individual households..........

another problem is the storing of the excess power produced as you would probably never use the total amt of what u garner thru the entire dayWhat if this was a community effort? That would ease the cost and a central storage area would take care of the excess. If there was too much, it could be sold to the local utility company (in Jamaica, that would be JPS).

[Chicokid]

Solar energy is a good alternative to fuel powered power stations. Only thing is the investment cost would be high.

[hebrew sista]

true chico kid but the thing is you spend the money anyways every month onsomething you will never own.

for instance say your electricity bill is $200 usd a month, instead of paying all that cash to the utility company each month, why not get a bank loan maybe and pay $50 a month on a solar system? or if you got the cash just pay for it out of pocket.

i swear i dont see how you CANT save a lot with solar power! why do people find it so easy to give money to the electric company but refuse to keep it in their pockets, plus get free energy from the sun?

[Chicokid]

People do use solar heating systems here to get hot water without having to use electricity or gas, that's a good start :)

[Izemi-Clem]

Hail

i swear i dont see how you CANT save a lot with solar power! why do people find it so easy to give money to the electric company but refuse to keep it in their pockets, plus get free energy from the sun?
:icon_arro Hebrew Sista
Probably you should be answering this question for us.
Your country is largest consumer of energy per household capita, as well as being the largest contributor to pollution of the environment.
With all the talk of conservation and lower emission laws, your country still burns millions of tons of fossil fuel and still refuses to sign the Kyoto Accord.
Maybe you should be telling us why with all the money and research spent on Solar Energy by your country, they still have not been able to design an efficient solar module that can provide us with enough power to run our households, factories and hospitals.
The solar technology that is available does not provide us with a solution for total independence from power companies.
In your country there are acres of solar panels and wind farms which contribute to the power grids but they certainly do not to any appreciable level where they are able to replace these power stations.

Are you suggesting that we mortgage our houses and place ourselves in debt by taking out high interest loans to finance technology which your country has not been willing to embrace on any appreciable level?
I will certainly not be spending my money on any technology that has no proven track record, and which I would have to ship oveseas to have serviced in the event of it breaking down.
But I would certainly be interested to hear from you as to how durable they prove to be when you get your solar washing machine etc.
Solar water heaters have been proven to pay for themsleves over a 2 year period but if you do not own your own property it would not be practical to make this kind of investment.
Please keep us updated when you do get them :)

Izemi-Clem

[nester-san]

You know co-incidence is a mother####$. Just yesterday I was speaking with a friend of mine about solar power.

He says the smallest kits run for $10,000 US. Our Gov't has no incentives or plans (basically all you hear is it is coming). The Meters that will run backwards (enabling you to sell unused power back to JPS, have not come onstream yet).

The basic kits cannot provide enough power to run your house plus charge batteries. Basically your fridge, stove, whatever else is on in day uses JPS power, then at night the batteries have charged enough to run you through the night. He says the units which are good enough to run your house 24/7 and maybe have enough to supply grid are much much more expensive.

I also saw a story on Cnn I think, where this guy had it fully setup, and he says it cost $150,000 US. He says Gov't easing some burden, and he makes back a change from excess power resold to Power company. He says he estimates 5-6 Years to pay it off.

For average Jamaica, $150,000 US = $9,750,000 is not chump change, that is Nice Size house money. Plus he had incentives, and his Govt and Power Company is not gonna shaft him like ours will with empty promises!!

[hebrew sista]

as i said before i spoke with people here on the island at the solar store in westmoreland, and the basic system isnt no where near 9 million ja.

and to Izemi-Clem, oh yes i will do this on land that i own, no i wont be having any sort of mortgage and no i dont expect anyone to take out one to do this, but the thing is that you dont seem to grasp is you end up paying out the money anyways, but to the electric company.

as for "my" country, i cannot be held responsible for what the usa does or does not do, heck i dont have that much to say nice about the usa, hence one reason im here on the island for so long lol.

so come back with more of your stats to refute or approve of solar energy, i dont care; i see it as a great source of free, renewable energy, regardless of whether or not the ja govt offers any incentives or not. i dont wait on anyone to give me a hand on such things, if i want it, i get it!

[ramesh]

Does anyone on this forum now have solar power running in their house? If you do, how much did it cost and how much output does your system have?

I know it's expensive now, but perhaps in the long run it will pay for itself. Oil prices have gone up again and will continue to go up - meaning it will pay for itself that much faster.

This might be a good start:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIUS9U/qid=1153171605/sr=8-8/ref=sr_1_8/104-9310754-6499145?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=15684181

[hebrew sista]

hi ramesh!

with the power outages the area im in suffers every other day, i been in contact with a company in kingston ( http://uucsolar.com but it looks like their site is down right now) that sells solar power generators, which i want to buy like YESTERDAY lol.

just think about it; even if the power goes out, you would still have lights, etc. and theres no fuel involved and its portable. if i can just get the company to give me more information, i will buy the generator next week.

[ramesh]

This is Google's cached copy of that website:

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:7svcf9ptRnQJ:www.uucsolar.com/+UUCSOLAR&hl=en&gl=jm&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a

[flirt]

ok i been here about 10 days or so and im thinking hey the sun shines here ALL the time just about so why isnt solar power utilized moreso than electric energy??

from my research it appears that the island gets its energy from burning fuel which has got to cost an arm and a leg right about now, so why doesnt the government do more to promote the use of solar energy?

the government themselves do use solar power, but not to the greater extent that they could http://www.mct.gov.jm/energy_4.htm.

heck theres even a store in westmoreland that sells all the solar stuff, even solar powered refrigerators and washing machines!!

and i called and found out that the government does offer some sort of a waiver to anybody that uses solar power, so heres a thought; why not make a small investment in something thats yours to keep instead of paying high electric bills every month?? the sun is free right??

man i cant WAIT to find me a peice of land and buy me a solar kit that will power just about everything i normally use!



:snoring: :snoring: :snoring:
:snoring: :snoring:
:snoring:

[hebrew sista]

hey thanks ramesh! i appreciate that. how are things on your side of the island these days?

[ramesh]

I'm ok, HS. Thanks for asking :)

Cruise ship business starting to fall, but we's hangin' in there. Waiting for my vacation to come up, probably next month.....

[Manu]

:snoring: :snoring: :snoring:
:snoring: :snoring:

Gallapo Fullo po....Galla pag! :rolleyes:

[Chicokid]

Wind is also another alternative :)

China's Wind Power

THE WORLD'S MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY HARNESSES
WIND TO HELP POWER A BURGEONING ECONOMY


It's important to remember the contribution from alternative energy to total world energy production is still minute. In China, a country that consumes 40 quadrillion BTU's of energy per year, less than one percent comes from wind power. But wind-generated power, which is growing worldwide at 30% per year, and which costs 80% less per megawatt than it did 20 years ago, is an important part of China's energy strategy. The world leader in wind energy is the nation of Denmark, whose wind manufacturers have forged strong ties with Chinese partners. Over 50% of the large capacity windmills currently installed in China are manufactured in Denmark.


Read more Here (http://www.ecoworld.com/Home/Articles2.cfm?TID=390)

[hebrew sista]

good article chicokid!!

[Manu]

We have wind farms here....

Where I live wind blows for about 10 hours constantly on average. Probably 15-25MPH. I think solar is boire viable though. The size turbine needed to supply a household is huge!!!

[hebrew sista]

hey manu, where u live does it get its energy from wind power? if so, have you seen any difference in your electric bills?

[Manu]

Nope. The wind farms are in Manchester. My house is wired in 240 volts helps to reduce my electricity bills. my house is 4 bedrooms and 3 stories. Two refrigerators and an electric stove plus my pc is almost always on. My bill is around 3500 per month. :D

[hebrew sista]

wow thats only like 1200 ja more than what im paying in this one room apartment now lolol. hmm thats interesting.

[Manu]

I bet it's wired in 110volts.

[Chicokid]

Jamaica uses double voltages similiar to Trinidad I think :)

[ramesh]

One positive is that you can take advantage of Government's soon-to-launch revolving loan National Energy Fund which finances renewable and energy efficient measures. Taken from today's Jamaica Gleaner (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060930/lead/lead3.html)

I've not heard of this National Energy Fund before. Does anyone know more about this?

[ramesh]

I saw an ad in todays Jamaica Sunday Gleaner from the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica. Apparently, there is going to be a presentation by someone named Steven Strong, President of Solar Design Associates (http://www.solardesign.com/) on Solar Energy for Jamaica at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel 2-5pm Wednesday 1st November (admission: free).

I'm hoping someone from Kingston can attend and let us know how cost effective it would be to go solar.

[ramesh]

An interesting documentary going on CNN right now, called "Out of gas - we were warned!".

Here is the transcript (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/02/siu.01.html), it makes interesting reading especially the part about Brazil and their use of ethanol and Flex Cars to get away from dependence on oil..

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v14207910ap9FGYSZ
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=CNN+OUT+OF+GAS&search_type=&aq=f

[Manu]

We need more cost effective solutions. Payment plans??? Something? Has the government gone ahead with removing tax from Hybrid car imports?

[ramesh]

The Portmore resident, over time, put in place a 1,000-watt Bergey permanent magnet micro roof-mounted wind turbine and a 1,000-watt solar hybrid system, which he says generates a maximum 7.5 kilowatts in a given day. This system, he said, does not require any current to produce energy.

Interesting article. :)
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20081025/lead/lead3.html

[Sophis]

Interesting article. :)
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20081025/lead/lead3.html

"So enthusiastic is he about alternative energy that Levy has gone a step further by purchasing a hybrid-energy motor car. This car uses electricity (from a high voltage battery) and a 1.5 litre gasolene engine. "1,066 kilometres from 43 litres of gas. The high voltage battery that drives the car is supposed to last two kilometres and I've driven from Liguanea to downtown Kingston, saving 95 per cent on gas," he explained."



This is really good..Can you imagine the kind of savings one could build up overtime?
Wouldn't it be great if there was a special concession provided for the importation of hybrid cars..I am sure the government would save millions from the domino effect of a lower demand for fuel, And any savings is "Savings" especially to finance our burdensome debt.

[Manu]

This is really good..Can you imagine the kind of savings one could build up overtime?
Wouldn't it be great if there was a special concession provided for the importation of hybrid cars..I am sure the government would save millions from the domino effect of a lower demand for fuel, And any savings is "Savings" especially to finance our burdensome debt.

I think they have concessions for hybrid cars but no one buys them....