Bahamas Eco-Forum

Alternative Energy Conference Set for Nassau

by Larry Smith

The US Department of State and the Organization of American States are staging a two-day regional conference on alternative energy at the Sheraton Cable Beach Hotel in Nassau July 23-24. 

American Ambassador to the Bahamas, Ned Sigel;  Bahamas Environment Minister, Earl Deveaux; Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle; Dan Arvizu, director of the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Robert Mosbacher, president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, will be among the featured speakers.

At the conference, Caribbean energy officials, energy producers, and aid donors will discuss strengthening support for regional renewable energy projects. The US Embassy in Nassau will also sponsor a business roundtable to discuss public-private partnerships for energy development, financing, and technology in the region.

The roundtable is being organised by Florida International University's Energy Business Forum.

The private sector is invited to sit in on the proceedings of the Caribbean Regional Sustainable Energy High Level Seminar on July 23, and take part in discussions the following day aimed at advancing the deployment of renewable energy technologies in the region.

Additional speakers will include high-level officials from the American government, the OAS, CARICOM, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Oil Man Promotes Renewables

by Larry Smith

Thomas Boone Pickens, Jr is an American billionaire who spent most of his life investing in the oil and gas industry.

He is a strong supporter of President George W Bush and has contributed millions to a variety of conservative causes. But he also believes in the peak oil theory, which claims that world oil production is about to enter a period of irrevocable decline.

Pickens recently announced a major energy policy proposal that promotes alternatives to fossil fuels. A major feature of the plan is the replacement of about a quarter of US electricity demand (currently derived from natural gas) with wind energy. This would allow gas to provide a third of the nation's transportation fuel  and significantly reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

Six Firms Negotiating for Virgin Islands Contract

Contributed by Bill Bardelmeier

Six alternative energy providers have started talks with the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority to add to the utility's power production and reduce energy bills. Contracts wit at least two of the companies will be finalised within five months.

The six companies are the finalists in a process initiated by WAPA earlier this year to bring alternative energy production online and reduce the utility's dependency on fuel.Fourteen companies responded to the original request for proposals.

The companies that WAPA is negotiating with represent several different power producing technologies, including waste-to-energy, coal, ocean thermal energy conversion, geothermal power, and a combination of wind and solar energy.

Through these agreements, WAPA hopes to replace up to 26 megawatts of power generation on St. Croix and up to 30 megawatts of power generation in the St. Thomas-St. John District. That would represent about 40 percent of WAPA's normal peak power demand territorywide.

Marshall Islands Declare Energy Emergency

Contributed by Bill Bardelmeier

The Republic of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific has declared a state of economic emergency as soaring fuel prices threaten to shut down electricity supplies.

Failure to resolve the fuel crisis could lead to a "disaster of unimaginable magnitude," President Litokwa Tomeing said recently.

Power utilities are facing a shortfall of up to $21 million over the next 12 months assuming the global fuel price trend continues. The shortfall represents almost 20 per cent of the total national budget.

The cabinet has decided to seek financial help from the United States, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and other countries and donor agencies to prevent a shut down of power in the country of about 54,000 people.

Hawaii Makes Solar Mandatory

Contributed by Doug Cotton

Hawaii is the first American state to require solar water heaters in new homes.

From 2010 it will be illegal to issue building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. Like the Bahamas, Hawaii relies almost totally on imported fossil fuels for its energy needs.

The measure was first introduced five years ago when a barrel of oil cost just $40. Since then, the cost of oil has more than tripled.

Controversy Over LNG Project Heats Up Again

by Larry Smith

There has been another exchange of views in the Nassau press on the AES proposal to build an LNG regasification terminal on uninhabited Ocean Cay near Bimini (see previous post for background).

An American teacher named Alan Jackson wrote an op-ed piece for the Tribune questioning the benefits of the project and citing "dangerous negatives that cannot be ignored."

Jackson's arguments focused on safety and security issues, with particular reference to the 37-year-old Everett facility in Boston harbour. He said the Ocean Cay terminal would be a target for terrorists because of its scale and value to the South Florida economy.

AES Wants BEC to Switch to LNG

by Larry Smith

The company that has been seeking approval for the past seven years to build a $650 million liquefied natural gas {LNG} terminal at Ocean Cay near Bimini to supply South Florida power plants has recently upped the ante.

AES Project Manager Aaron Sampson recently said the company was willing to build a pipeline from Ocean Cay to Nassau to supply LNG to the Bahamas Electricity Corporation.

He added that replacing diesel with LNG would save the country over $200 million a year in fuel costs. It would cost an estimated $10 million to convert BEC's Nassau generators to run on natural gas.

BEC RFP Deadline Extended

by Larry Smith

The Bahamas Electricity Corporation has extended the deadline for renewable energy proposals to September 12 in the interest of ensuring the widest possible participation.

The request for proposals was issued on May 19, with a July deadline. The new deadline will allow companies who have already received the specifications document additional time to perform the necessary research and gather information to prepare and submit proposals.

The Renewable Technology Committee is currently preparing recommendations for amendments to the Electricity Act to allow BEC to negotiate power purchase agreements with private providers.

Florida Announces Solar Energy Initiatives

Contributed by Tracy Toogood

Florida Power & Light announced plans to build three solar power plants during Florida Governor Charlie Crist's second "Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change," held in Miami June 25-26.

FPL's $688 million renewable energy plan calls for a 10-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant near the Kennedy Space Centre,  a 75-megawatt solar thermal plant in Martin County near Palm Beach and a 25-megawatt photovoltaic plant, one of the largest in the world, in DeSoto County on Florida's west coast.

The Martin County project will be the largest single solar thermal facility outside of California, and the world’s first solar project connected to a natural gas-fired plant. FPL's plans position Florida as the second leading state in the nation for solar energy production after California.

Six Reasons to Love Higher Oil Prices

by Larry Smith

There's good news and bad news on the energy front these days. The bad news? Prices are up. The good news? Prices are up. Analysts are forecasting $200-a-barrel oil, which could put a gallon of gas close to $10 for Bahamians.

Goldman Sachs, the New York investment bank, says a barrel of oil will "spike” at $200 next year, with prices remaining above $100 for the medium term. The underlying assumption is that, unlike the oil shocks of the 1970’s, today's prices are demand driven by the huge emerging economies of China and India, with supplies threatened by geopolitical instability in producing countries.

Skeptics say that Goldman Sachs is part of a speculative frenzy that is driving prices up, but the Paris-based International Energy Agency, which advises 27 rich countries on energy policy, has a more fundamentalist view. Here is what the IEA's chief economist had to say this month: