Bahamas Eco-Forum

What is Biodiesel?

by Keith Bishop

Currently, there is no commercial biodiesel production in the Bahamas - the work at Cape Eleuthera Institute has been done on an experimental basis. There is, however, large-scale production in the United States and elsewhere.

It is unlikely that using the estimated 300,000 gallons of discarded cooking oil that is available in the Bahamas annually will produce enough volume to justify the cost of retrofitting gas stations to pump biodiesel. And it is unlikely that the Bahamas Electricity Corporation will become a consumer because the cost of local production would likely be higher than the fuels currently used by the corporation's slow-turning generators.

The most likely consumers would be those entities operating fleets of diesel vehicles.

Pacific Island Nation Pursues OTEC

by Larry Smith (contributed by Doug Cotton)

The US-associated Palau Islands (south of the Philippines) want the United States Trade and Development Agency to finance a feasibility study for an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion electricity and fresh water production facility.

The OTEC facility is estimated to cost around $250 million. The government said it was pursuing OTEC technology because it has a zero carbon footprint with no toxic waste streams.

How OTEC Works

by Keith Bishop

In talking to some folks yesterday I was amazed at the misconceptions surrounding OTEC – so I put this together for them.

OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) is an technology that has long been considered a potential source of low-cost, carbon-neutral, base-load electricity as well as bulk desalinated water. While the technology has been under development for over 60 years, commercialization has not yet been realized.

As the global price of energy increases in step with concern for reducing greenhouse emissions, a valuable opportunity presents itself for us to take the lead in forming an international consortium to complete the excellent work begun by OTEC researchers and developers worldwide.

The Bahamas is considered a potential base for OTEC due to the close proximity to land of deep, cold ocean water An assessment of the potential opportunities associated with offshore OTEC plants might include:

∑ Low cost air-conditioning
∑ Low cost power production
∑ Production of bulk fresh water
∑ Aquaculture and mariculture
∑ Nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals.
∑ Salt, brine
∑ Marine adventure tourism

Conventional Power Losses

by Larry Smith

Conventional generation of electricity in large central power stations is normally only 30-40 per cent energy efficient. More recent combined-cycle generation can improve this to over 55%, excluding losses in the transmission of the electricity, which can be as great as 20 per cent of the delivered efficiency. Grand Bahama loses somewhere around 7-8 per cent in transmission. Nassau around 10 per cent. Jamaica loses about 22 per cent. The transmission loss figure for the Cayman Islands is only around 5 per cent.

Oil Tanker Aground Off Clifton Pier

by Kevin Degenhard, executive director, Bahamas Humane Society

The oil tanker "FICUS" ran aground on the reef just off Clifton Pier on Wednesday (February 27) and Shell International Trading & Shipping Co Ltd sent a disaster preparedness team from London.

The tanker was delivering fuel oil to Nassau, and could clearly be seen from Clifton. Yesterday there were onshore winds of about 20mph and a choppy sea. Today is better with a light wind around 5mph and virtually no surf.

Melville's Two Cents-Worth

•David Melville comes from a family of New England shoe makers, which traded as Thom McCan - once America’s top-selling footwear brand. In 1977 he bought over 800 acres on Rum Cay, and later set up the island's first hostelry - the Rum Cay Dive Club. He lived at Port Nelson on Rum Cay until 2005, when he moved back to the US.

by David Melville

Not from expertise, but from experience on Rum Cay, I recommend the following:

For electricity, think in terms of combinations of wind turbines and solar panels, with added tidal rotors where applicable. Panels alone take up too much space but every roof top should be covered with them.  Wind generators of all sizes, not just the mammoth commercial sizes, should be considered as several can be installed on each tower. Diesel should be for emergency only.

For AC, most inhabited islands and cays have some shore facing a steep drop-off to deep, cold water.  (Sandy Point, Rum Cay, has 6000 feet just a short distance off shore.) Only a few islands could not feasibly participate in this energy-saving method called ocean thermal energy conversion.

For recycling, start an educational program NOW. It is proven fact that soft drinks are the single most pernicious cause of many diseases like diabetes and obesity as they contain up to 35% sugar.  Strive to wean Bahamians away from sodas and get rid of tons of aluminum cans, which also are toxic.

That's my two cents-worth. 

Freeport's 'Buyers' Unveil Industrial Strategies

by Larry Smith

The anticipated buyers of Freeport recently unveiled their proposed investment strategies, which include some major energy-related projects.

Privatisation of Electricity Assets

by Larry Smith

In 2001 the government sold 80 per cent of the Jamaica Public Service Company to US-based Mirant, which began operations in 1982 as Southern Energy.

Mirant declared bankruptcy in 2005 and sold its Caribbean assets to a subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation of Japan in 2007.

In 1993 Mirant acquired 50 per cent of Grand Bahama Power Company and assumed management control. Three years later ICD Utilities, the other 50 per cent owner in Grand Bahama Power, offered 25 per cent of its shares to the public and 25 per cent to Mirant.

CFLs Key to Energy Efficiency

by Larry Smith

Compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs, made up 20 per cent of the US light bulb market last year, and they are doubling annually.

The US Congress passed an energy bill in December that included a plan to phase out the sale of incandescent bulbs. CFLs use about 75 per cent less electricity and last up to 10,000 hours, compared to a maximum of 1,000 hours for regular bulbs.Lighting typically makes up about 20 per cent of a home's power bill.

Each CFL bulb contains a small amount of mercury, which is toxic to humans. However, experts say that every CFL thrown in the trash represents a net reduction of mercury in the environment compared with each incandescent bulb.

That's because the amount of mercury generated by a power plant to light a CFL bulb is dramatically less than that generated to light an incandescent bulb.

Promotion of CFLs were a major feature of the Jamaica demand side management programme which dramatically increased public awareness of energy efficiency. Annual CFL sales in Jamaica rose from 5,000 prior to 1995 to 85,000 in 2004 and are expected to reach some 130,000 by 2010.

Notes on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

by Bill Bardelmeier

I used to know the Cape Eleuthera Resort pretty well. I just happened to be on a friend's yacht there the week they finally pulled the plug and shut down back in the 80s.

A day or two later the newest of the big US nuclear missile subs (I believe it was the USS Chicago) surfaced a quarter mile offshore and proceeded to ”make the day” for every taxi on Eleuthera. They ferried shipyard workers - who were aboard the sub for builders' trials - to transport aircraft at the airport and brought back sailors reporting for duty on board.

Therefore (without a hydro chart before me) I believe that the deep Exuma trench runs quite close to the marina, meaning that Cape Eleuthera would be a prime candidate, as a first baby step, to simply bring up some 40 degree F water from the deeps for air conditioning. That would save a lot of money on electric power. Today, you can run 600 hp irrigation pumps on solar alone.

I was in Bora Bora in December and the new Intercontinental Hotel is pumping water there from a depth of 3000 feet to air condition its whole installation - hotel, shops, spa etc. They discharge the warmed (but still cool) water into a pipe that extends below the level at which coral can survive, to avoid reef damage.

In the Bahamas we have quite a number of sites where very deep cold water is juxtaposed with shallow warm water. We  must learn to use these natural features to gain clean energy efficiency for the future.

As I recall, one could moor a supertanker very close to the beach at one area of southwest Great Abaco. There are other similar sites and we must learn to benefit from some of the unusual conditions in this archipelago.