by Larry Smith
Despite efforts to move towards a renewable energy future, the government's energy chiefs are investing $105 million of scarce public funds in an oil-fired power plant that will be able to meet demand on the island of Abaco for decades.
The plant is being built on a 25-acre site in the pine forest about 14 miles south of Marsh Harbour by MAN Diesel Canada. It will feature four state-of-the-art heavy fuel oil generators that will produce 48 megawatts of electricity.
Marsh Harbour's existing 30-year-old plant has an installed capacity of 27 megawatts, and peak demand on Abaco is 24 megawatts, with demand growing at 5% a year.
The Christie administration took the decision to build the new plant back in 2005, after years of dithering. And the construction contracts were signed by the Ingraham government in December, 2007. But neither government has involved the people of Abaco in any meaningful consultation until recently.
Foundations for the plant have already been laid and the generators are expected to arrive in November, with power being produced by next spring. A fuel dock and pipeline will be built on the coast at the environmentally sensitive Bight of Old Robinson, some two miles from the plant. And new transmission lines will be erected to connect the plant to the island's grid.
But the lack of public disclosure has fed concerns about the environmental and other implications of the project. Government and BEC officials held a standing room-only public meeting in Marsh Harbour recently to allay these fears, but opponents hired Freeport lawyer Fred Smith to file for judicial review, and this led to work being halted while BEC applies for the necessary construction and local government permits.
"This is the biggest capital expediture in Abaco's history and there has been no meaningful public consultation," Smith said. "It is incumbent on government to ensure that due process is respected - that is the essence of democracy."
Meanwhile, Abaconians are suffering through frequent power outages because the existing plant at Marsh Harbour can barely keep up with the demand from 15,000 residents, 1500 second home owners, and 100,000 annual visitors.
But some argue that the issue of conventional versus renewable energy, on Abaco in particular, has not been sufficiently explored by officials, and a national energy policy that would promote these initiatives is still nowhere near being implemented.
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