The Jamaican government’s Generation Procurement Entity has released tender documents inviting domestic and foreign proposals for utility-scale renewable energy projects.

Selected developers will be required to build facilities with capacity ranging from 5 MW to 50 MW using individual or hybrid technologies – wind, solar, and hydro – with or without storage. Generating units comprising hybrid technologies will not be required to be developed at a single location, but they must have single interconnection points.

However, bids with storage will not have their net capacity increased, as their total capacity will be determined without storage, and there will also be no commitment or payment regarding firmness. There will also be no incentives recognized for storage installation. Projects with storage will compete with projects without storage under the same conditions, and the energy delivered from batteries will be paid at the same price as the rest of the energy supplied.

Solar projects must be commercially operational within two years from the execution date, and projects relying on other technologies will be required to be up and running within 30 months from the execution date.

Projects will be recommended to be granted PPAs with Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Co. Ltd. acting as the single buyer. The price will be determined by JPS.

Collectively, the projects will produce 100 MW for Jamaica’s electricity grid, with the aim of “increasing the share of renewable sources of energy in the country energy mix,” according to the tender documents.

The move is part of the Caribbean nation’s commitment to sourcing 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the country had 93 MW of installed PV capacity at the end of 2022.