Interview - Solar Buzz

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7.38KW SUNPOWER SYSTEM

12.54KW SYSTEM

Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Jason Robinson, Owner and CEO of Solar Buzz about the boom in residential solar, fighting for Vision 2030, and their plans to keep on innovating.

By Elizabeth Cope

Solar Buzz Jamaica was founded in July 2011 with an aim to help businesses and homeowners tackle soaring high energy costs by introducing them to solar power. Educating clients on the importance of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and real-time energy monitors, Solar Buzz has developed a reputation for reducing its customers energy costs by more than 20%. It was this reputation that kept the business afloat prior to 2014, when the Development Bank of Jamaica announced lower interest rates and longer terms for the installation of solar systems, allowing Solar Buzz to design and install solar panels commercially and domestically across Jamaica, now generating 90% of their revenue.

CHANGING MARKETS

With the advent of COVID-19, Solar Buzz had seen a dramatic rise in its residential business. “With everyone stuck at home, and higher demands on energy, people have experienced an increased number of blackouts and higher energy bills,” says Jason Robinson, Owner and CEO of Solar Buzz. “To address that, people are coming forward looking to install battery systems in their homes. We’re able to offer them lithium battery systems, which help to reduce power demands, improving the resilience of power systems and smoothing out the effects of blackouts. It’s meant that since the start of the pandemic, between 70 to 80% of our overall business has skewed towards residential, as opposed to commercial.”

Solar Buzz has been focusing on forming stronger banking partnerships while educating the financial sector. “A lot of banks in Jamaica lack a firm renewable energy policy,” explains Mr. Robinson. “We’ve been educating the banking sector, helping to ensure they feel confident in lending to commercial and residential clients. There’s a huge market of people who need solar energy, but who can’t afford it. Businesses are desperate for reliable, cheaper energy that will offset their business expenses, and help them to recover from the pandemic. In the case of hospitals and schools, for example, you have institutions who are more than willing to take high-quality secondhand equipment, often still with more than 10 years of warranty left should there be any defaults on solar loans. We’ve also signed one or two partnerships with banks, in which we’re one of their exclusive solar partners. They’ll use the system as collateral, acquiring clients, and giving them beneficial interest rates and longer terms.”

TOWARDS VISION 2030

Recently, the Government of Jamaica has removed incentives for lithium batteries coming to the island, a decision which has caused

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difficulty for the country’s growing solar industry. “Whereas they were previously exempt from tax, some of the industry players’ battery shipments are now being taxed upon arrival,” explains Mr. Robinson. “The Government likely needs revenue due to the pandemic, but Prime Minister Holness implemented Vision 2030 to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, with the aim of a 50% reduction by 2030. There’s an argument to say it should be 100%, but for either target these taxation measures are counter-productive: if you’re living in a hurricane zone and have a Vision 2030 plan to promote renewable energy, you must put in place resilient backup power for the island. By increasing the prices for the very products we need, it keeps the best technology out of reach for the majority of Jamaicans.”

Instead, Solar Buzz believes Jamaicans are having to turn to lesser-efficient lead alternatives. “Lead acid batteries, are duty-free, but they’re worse for the environment,” says Mr. Robinson. “They go to landfills, they leak into our water systems, and they last only four or five years once installed, compared to the decade’s worth of energy contained in a lithium battery. It’s a situation we’re working to change, holding meetings with our customers, and the Ministries of Finance and Energy, encouraging them to make a decision. People need inexpensive, reliable power, and it’s something we’re having to really battle for as an industry.”

PREMIUM SERVICE

Within Jamaica, Solar Buzz has established itself as an exclusive dealer for SunPower panels. “Our position as a leading installer of SunPower panels is a reflection of their quality, power output, and resilience against corrosion,” explains Mr. Robinson. “They come with a slight premium compared to other panels, but the payoff for the consumer is more than worth it. To secure the partnership, we underwent a rigorous interview process that lasted more than a year, and involved checks via the US Embassy. We were fortunate enough to go on an energy mission to Solar Power International 2019 in Utah, one of the biggest expos in the world. It’s there that we were able to seal the deal.”

SunPower is just one part of Solar Buzz’s strategy to secure cutting-edge technology. “At the same trade show, we were introduced to a company called Discover Lithium Batteries,” says Mr. Robinson. “We’d never seen a battery so well put together, and we did everything in our power to convince them to give a smaller company like us a shot at distribution. We’ve maintained a strong relationship with them since the beginning of 2020, and as a result have successfully been able to transition away from lead acid batteries, which is what most of the island still uses for solar installations. We can now exclusively install SunPower panels with Discover Lithium Batteries.”

“In the future, we’re going to continue to innovate for our clients, bringing more products, and the latest online software,” says Mr. Robinson. “We want to help our customers to manage their overall energy usage in a more organized and simple way. To achieve that, the policies need to be in place that allow us to do so – but we’re looking to be part of a number of larger commercial installations, to keep adding more systems to improve Jamaica’s transition from fossil fuel to cleaner energy. It’s our mission to give residents reliable, resilient, and clean energy.” c

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“PEOPLE NEED INEXPENSIVE, RELIABLE POWER, AND IT’S SOMETHING WE’RE HAVING TO REALLY BATTLE FOR AS AN INDUSTRY.”

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