Solamon Energy announces philanthropic program; annual renewables energy pitch contest for students

Solamon Energy is pleased to introduce an annual program to find the most talented young entrepreneurs in Jamaica focused on innovative solutions in the energy sector, including new wind and marine technologies. “Like people around the world, we found Jamaicans obsessed with solving their country’s energy crisis,” explains Jay Yeo, Solamon President. “Our CEO and SVP both reported Jamaicans are active on several levels and confident the answer lies in solar arrays.”

Tentatively titled Power People, Solamon SVP Christian Giles will develop and launch the competition in Jamaica, in conjunction with Solamon SVP Ainsley Brown who will coordinate local media and sponsorships. At the championship event, July 2012, Solamon Energy will award The Solamon Cup and a cash prize to the winning team, as selected by a panel of qualified judges. Eventually, these winners will compete against teams from other countries, and a Grand Champion ultimately selected by popular vote.

With Jamaica’s energy policy in place and its leaders firmly determined to execute, it is widely expected the country’s vibrant manufacturing sector will turn their rooftops over to solar arrays, reducing costs and becoming more productive and competitive. With each solar array uniquely designed, this fact will increase the demand for new and innovative solutions as well.

“New technologies are introduced each day,” states Yeo, “In terms of integrating new technologies, great ideas are singularly the most important reason we are launching the competition, and we’re certain many more great ideas will be presented by the competitors each week.”

The government of Jamaica is aiming to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels substantially by 2030 and renewable energy plants are expected to supply 20% of the country’s electricity.

“With a competent distribution of 2MW arrays, we agree Jamaica can reduce its oil imports significantly,” explains Yeo. “Yes, we need to be creative in switching economies to renewable source of energy, but also to properly insulate homes and businesses and not waste energy. We have been able to speak to many people in our recent visits and they are confident the sun should be powering their country.

“We will be working with many schools,” adds Yeo, “drawing upon aspiring engineers and teaming them with marketing students to present in a competition how their idea will save the world. We think these pitches will make a great TV series and, from among the best of the idealists, perhaps we’ll introduce a realist who flatly states how many marketing dollars would be required to commercialize the venture.”

Energy drives all industries in Jamaica, from transportation to tourism, and from mining to manufacturing. The cost of generating electricity is forcing the government to expedite steps to attract solutions to deliver renewable, sustainable and cheaper energy. Eager for change and assuring the government that its children are aware of the problems, UTech recently sponsored a competition and students were showcased on Jamaican television promoting their solutions.

In Jamaica, the government’s energy policy offers many challenges and many opportunities. Within the Ministry of Energy and Mining, The Energy Division is cognizant that the people of Jamaica are frustrated but the the necessary steps to deliver a comprehensive framework in which to assure the renewable sector. “A successful strategy will require all levels of government to cooperate with each other, on behalf of the people, to ensure energy production well into the future. They too will need to listen to our winners,” Yeo concludes. 

Lawrence Solomon

Lawrence Solomon is a Canadian writer on the environment and the founder and executive director of Energy Probe, a Canadian non-governmental environmental organization. His writing has appeared in a number of newspapers, including The National Post where he has a column, and he is the author of several books on energy resources, urban sprawl, and global warming, among them The Conserver Solution (1978), Energy Shock (1980), Toronto Sprawls: A History (2007), and The Deniers (2008).

Solomon opposes nuclear power based on its economic cost, is a global warming skeptic, and has been critical of government approaches and policies used to address environmental concerns.

Solomon writes that he was an adviser to President Jimmy Carter's task force on the environment in the late 1970s, which released The Global 2000 Report to the President in 1980. He has a regular column in The National Post, and has written for The Globe and Mail, National Review Online, CBS News, and The Wall Street Journal. He was the editor and publisher of Next City magazine, now defunct.He has also written for American Forests, an environmental conservation organization.

Serving as executive director of the Urban Renaissance Institute, a division of Energy Probe, Solomon has advocated environmental protection, conservation, and safeguards throughout the world, especially in non-affluent nations. He supports reforms in foreign aid, putting a stop to nuclear power expansion, and supports the privatization of transport projects and the expansion of toll roads. "I note that Lawrence Solomon continues to advocate road tolls, and the privatization of the TTC (like London) for Toronto's transportation system." Bruce Campion-Smith  In his columns and his book Toronto Sprawls: A History, he blames government policy for exacerbating and encouraging sprawl. He is a critic of subsidies to rural Canada,[11] and has criticized Ontario Hydro's actions and projects and their effects on Canada's environment.He writes that he was very active during the 1970s and 1980s with Energy Probe in opposing attempts to expand the use of nuclear power in Canada.

Global warming

In a series of articles and a companion book published in 2008, The Deniers, Solomon writes about scientists whose views and research, according to Solomon, contradicts what he calls the alarmist view of global warming presented by Al Gore, the IPCC and the media. The book featured on C-SPAN's Book TV on May 11, 2008. Reviews of the book have appeared in the Washington Times, Vancouver Sun, Alternatives Journal, and other publications.

In December, 2008, an executive from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy sponsored a debate about global warming between Lawrence Solomon and Dr. Jay Gulledge of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, who took the opposite view. Solomon's blog has been mentioned in U.S. News & World Report's website concerning carbon emissions reduction legislation.

Wikipedia

Solomon claims he has had negative experience editing Wikipedia. He has written columns criticizing Wikipedia's articles on global warming and other topics, including his own Wikipedia biography page, saying that they were edited by "zealots" and that Wikipedia was "modern propaganda."[22][23][24][25][26] He has also criticized the edits of William Connolley.

Clash of civilizations

On December 29, 2010, Solomon predicted a "clash of civilizations between Islam and the west," over the secession of southern Sudan. He predicted that northern Sudan would reject the secession, which would then pit "a club of non-Islamic nations" (including what he calls "Christian Kenya", "Christian Ethiopia" and Israel) against Islamic ones (including Iran).

Green Beanery

In 2004, Solomon founded Green Beanery, a non-profit online merchant specializing in organic coffee beans produced by small, independent farmers.[32] The company is located in downtown Toronto and includes a cafe where customers can sample a wide variety of coffee.[33] The profits from Green Beanery go to Probe International.