Cogen Project

The UWI Mona currently consumes approximately six Megawatts (MW) of electricity at its peak during the day and a base load of approximately three MW at night. This makes UWI Mona one of the largest consumers of electricity in the country, with an annual bill at the beginning of 2019 of some JMD$819,625,135.15. Significantly, this power cost came during a period of relatively low global oil prices, which kept the price of power purchased from Jamaica Public Service (JPS) relatively low.

In the recent past, the Mona Campus has received monthly billings from JPS as high as JMD$84,000,000. Against this background UWI Mona is working on becoming an energy self-generator by constructing a power plant and connecting it to existing heat absorption chillers now on Campus, thereby establishing a co-generation plant for its own use. The project commenced in 2018 and is set for completion during the second quarter 2020. At that time the Campus should see a net reduction of over JMD$160 Million per year in its charges for energy, thus reducing this financial operating overhead considerably.

The project also creates multiple partnership opportunities for the Campus. General Electric and Marinsa Caribbean Co. Ltd. with the Campus' agreement, intends to showcase the Plant to their potential partners as a model for developing similar projects within the region.