We’re officially off the grid! Well, mostly. Since 2015 CEAC has been steadily reducing the carbon footprint of our offices and associated facilities by offsetting consumption of fossil-fuel-generated electricity from the national grid with solar generated electricity. This year we invested some J$3,000,000 upgrading our solar energy systems, and now, on a daily basis we generate approximately 110kWh at our office in New Kingston and 70kWh at FerryBPO31 in the 876 Kingston Industrial Park.
What does this translate to? On sunny days, CEAC can generate enough solar energy to conduct its operations 100 per cent off the national electricity grid, and on overcast days, two-thirds (2/3) of our energy needs are solar-generated. In addition to photovoltaic (solar) panels, FerryBPO31 also utilizes solar shading, which reduces heat load by 50-60 per cent and decreases radiation, and practices rainwater harvesting, reducing pollution and limiting environmental damage caused by stormwater runoff.
Since we started operations in 2001, we’ve been guided by our CEAC Climate Change Policy, which commits the company to limiting its impacts on climate change and to increasing our resilience thorough our operations and practices as engineers by implementing sustainable solutions to climate-related challenges.
And we’re proud of what we’ve achieved. With this latest addition to our solar array, CEAC has not only drastically reduced its dependence on fossil fuels but we’ve also saved the equivalent of 623 trees in two months.
Our commitment to reducing our contribution to climate change is ongoing, and over time, more measures will be implemented with the end goal being sustainability, energy efficiency and climate resilience.