Solamon Announces Renewable Energy Plan for Jamaica
Solamon Energy's Apollo Acres to Cover Old Bauxite Mines in Jamaica.
- (1888PressRelease) May 06, 2011 - Toronto - Jay Yeo, president of Solamon Energy, while appearing on Radio 106 in Montego Bay today announced the company will be meeting with senior government officials in Jamaica shortly and confirmed plans for solar solutions targeting the island's old open-pit bauxite mines. Later in this month, Solamon executives will be in Kingston, Jamaica, to meet with leaders at local universities, manufacturers, airports, hotels and gated communities, in addition to politicians.
Bauxite, a surface mineral, is found throughout the limestone hills of western Jamaica and was mined extensively after the Second World War and then shipped abroad. Now thousands of bauxite mines lay unused, dug to produce alumina, remaining eyesores on the tropical Caribbean island. Research funds have been recently allocated to develop several of these mines into agricultural farms, and Solamon has the resources to supply a finite number of solar farms, whether fixed mount or tracking solutions.
Most of the old bauxite mines were bought by the Jamaican government in the 1970s, and therefore Solamon is meeting with senior government officials, including The Bauxite Institute, to determine priorities and to begin site surveys. While turning barren hillsides into solar farms and generating electricity for local homes and businesses, Solamon intends to solve several problems.
Solamon will hire and train local teams to survey sites, construct arrays, and install, test, monitor and maintain equipment; Solamon will work with local officials to provide the best solution for the selected location, whether a university, hospital or office building, integrating not only solar, but also the latest wind technologies to maximize efficiencies; Solamon will effectively lessen Jamaica's dependence on fossil fuel, notably oil, one Apollo Acre at a time, powered by the sun; and Solamon will continually provide self-sufficient solutions that pay for themselves, rather than enabling a foreign companies, including banks, to control power supply.
"Not surprisingly, we have found each solar installation is different," Yeo explains. "Each terrain is unique, yet each landscape offers new challenges and new opportunities. We know there are thousands of old bauxite mines in Jamaica and we welcome local involvement, as we have no intention of becoming a utility," he adds, "and truly hope Jamaican leaders will see the benefit of ownership."
Solar farms are being integrated into fields and atop rooftops with renewed enthusiasm around the world. At a series of upcoming meetings in Kingston, Solamon will be inviting numerous Jamaican companies to deploy Apollo Acres onto unused bauxite mines and land in general, whether hillsides, swamps or parking lots.
"We know approximately one Apollo Acre will power a small community, office or factory," Yeo concludes. "Ten Apollo Acres upon 50 acres would generate 6.2 MW of electricity, supplying over 6,200 homes. Once these solar farms are commissioned, we will assign and train a local company to manage and maintain these power plants, who can then grow their own business with each new installation."
Solamon Energy designs and installs integrated arrays of ground-mounted photovoltaic cells that are connected by cable to each other and to converters, inverters, batteries and transmission points, utilizing minimially 5 acres of land per unit, which is called an Apollo Acre™. Solamon is focused on packaging and delivering turnkey systems across the Caribbean, and seeks to open field offices in The Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados and Belize.
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