By Anthony Morgan

Global Information Communications Technology (ICT) provider, Huawei, has started capitalizing on Jamaica’s growing alternative energy market.

Courtney Hamilton, Huawei’s local Director of Enterprise Business Group

The company recently entered the industry with it’s fusion solar solution which Huawei’s local Director of Enterprise Business Group, Courtney Hamilton, said was the first step in taking advantage of the development prospects of the renewables sector. 

“We’ve only begun to scratch at the surface, there’s an opportunity to harness the sunshine and what we’ve started to do now is put all the regulations and all the things in place that will allow customers to have these types of solutions. Now that we’ve started, we will see a much bigger take up, and I believe it will grow exponentially in the years to come,” reasoned Hamilton.

Huawei started selling its photovoltaic PV solar product locally 3 months ago, but the Director believes the product will help to give the company a competitive advantage in the sector in the future.

“We’re extremely competitive in this space, it’s an investment that customers would make. We know the cost of electricity in Jamaica and our product is going to sell itself in short order; it will show customers real returns in a short period of time,” said Hamilton. 

Hamilton said the company’s latest ICT have been incorporated into the solar solution, making it highly efficient, safe, reliable and smart for customers. 

“We developed an application to have everything connected so they [installers and users] know what their efficiency level is; they’ll know if there are any issues with the system,” he said. 

The Director said the solution targets both residential and commercial customers looking to cut their energy consumption levels. Large utility providers building big solar farms that supply the Jamaica Public Service’s grid also stand to benefit from the new product.

“We sell retail and our partners are engaging homeowners, businesses, anyone looking to reduce their carbon footprint,” said Hamilton. “We have a partnership with Fosrich and that means they will be helping to drive the business in the market place and helping customers who want the solutions to get it,” he added.

According to Hamilton, Huawei is the leading player in the global alternative energy market. They also command some 30% of the mobile market. Overall the company provides service to over 3 billion people in some 170 countries.

In the region, Huawei employs over 3000 persons including over 40 in Jamaica. Hamilton said the potential for expansion in the Caribbean is also great, adding that the company remains committed to providing the most secure products to all customers.

“We have the opportunity to move up to more technical activities which require different skill sets. We have some of that here and we’re doing quite a bit to develop that here. It is for us to set the policy objectives and really work hard to achieve them,” he said.

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