Above: Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell at NCU this week (JIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The high cost of energy is the biggest issue affecting Jamaica today, according to Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell.

“On the matter of fuel, I want to let the Jamaican traveling public know this, there is not a lot that we can do, quite honestly, but this government is open and willing to consider all feasible proposals or suggestions for how to ease the burden that we face today,” he said.

The Minister was speaking at the unveiling Thursday of the conceptual drawings for the Jamaica Public Services’ new Hydroelectric Power Plant in Maggotty, St Elizabeth.

“At these rates, we all know how our businesses and families struggle to survive, our growth is stymied and our future imperiled,” he said. “I talk to people and hear the stories … it is a matter that we are taking seriously.”

The new hydroelectric facility, which came at a cost of $33 million, will double capacity at Maggotty from six megawatts to 12.3 megawatts.

Construction is to begin later this year.

It’s not the only renewable fuel proposed in Jamaica, which has been making a push to diversify its energy supply, from a wind farm at Wigton to several new solar panel pilot projects.