Bahamas Could Set Renewable Energy Pace

by Larry Smith

A special report by a top US consulting firm says the Bahamas has "abundant untapped resources" to develop a strong renewable energy infrastructure that can cut oil imports, make more capital available for investment and help maintain our leading edge in regional tourism.

The report says solar electricity can be produced here at a cost similar to existing oil-fired generation. Even assuming no government support, the cost per kilowatt hour from rooftop photovoltaic panels would average only 15 cents compared to retail electricity prices of 25 cents a kilowatt that are currently being charged to most Bahamian consumers.

The report was issued by Haley & Aldrich - a New England-based environmental engineering consultancy founded in 1957. According to Vice President Doug Cotton, the firm is working with clients in the Bahamas "who could benefit from the price stability, energy security, and secondary benefits that would be created by widespread adoption of renewable energy production.

"Our interest in helping to promote renewable energy is related to the work we are doing for one of the largest resort development projects on New Providence, and because we are working with some renewable energy companies who have an interest in coming to the Bahamas should there be changes to the present regulatory regime."

For the past couple of years - as fuel prices have soared - the government has talked about formulating a national energy policy to help minimise economic and social disruption in the event of a global energy crisis, but this effort has not gone further than a basic draft prepared by an Inter-American Development Bank consultant. Now, Cotton says his 23-page report was presented to government in August and is circulating widely among officials.

The report evaluates the potential renewable energy resources and technologies that the Bahamas should consider for its energy future. It offers an assessment of which options have the greatest potential and recommends policy measures to achieve the best results.

Currently, the cost of generating electricity accounts for about one twelfth of our total gross domestic product (over $700 million in 2006 alone), and is wholly based on burning imported fossil fuels. As the report points out, this will only get worse as rising global demand combines with declining oil supplies. Power demand in the Bahamas is projected to grow at 8 per cent a year, and experts say that oil price stability is simply unattainable in today's world.

And since we rely heavily on tourism, we are especially vulnerable to the negative consequences of petroleum use - air pollution, spills and climate change. If the government's goal is to ensure continued economic growth with greater energy security, we have to look at other options to produce energy.

The report reviews half a dozen renewable technologies (including wind, ocean thermal, tidal, ocean current and biomass) and says solar is the best bet. Photovoltaic units to generate electricity and solar panels to heat water have the highest potential impact for the Bahamas with the least difficulty of implementation over the shortest time frame - using technology that is available now.

In fact, this option could save an estimated 23 million gallons of oil imports per year if 50 per cent of Bahamian homes had a 2kw pv system and 75 per cent had solar water heaters installed.

"The amount of solar energy reaching the ground in the Bahamas is higher than at locations in Nevada, Spain or Germany, where large-scale solar generating systems have been installed over the past couple of years," Cotton told Tough Call. "This is a very good amount of sunlight - about 5.5 kilowatts per hour - that can be converted to energy."

The Haley & Aldrich report cited an average cost of 15 cents per kilowatt hour to generate solar power. This was derived from a computer programme developed by Natural Resources Canada and is based on the following assumptions: a 2 kilowatt system, a 25-year life span, and a US price of about $16,000 to buy and install the system.

"To ensure The Bahamas’ continuing development and viability, the nation must open up and breathe new life into its energy infrastructure," the report says. " Solar power is a proven technology that can produce electricity in a location such as The Bahamas for costs comparable to those from diesel generation."

Utility-scale solar electricity projects exist throughout the world. An 11 megawatt PV plant was commissioned recently in Portugal, for example. The facility occupies 150 acres, consists of 52,000 photovoltaic modules and cost an estimated $75 million, which is roughly comparable to BEC's new oil-fired power plant that is being planned for Clifton on New Providence.

Biomass (read garbage) is another potentially important source of renewable energy for the Bahamas. If burned in a waste-to-energy plant, the amount of garbage produced on New Providence each day can generate about 20 megawatts of electricity, the report says. And Grand Bahama could produce another 5 megawatts. The total electricity generating capacity in the Bahamas is about 600 megawatts.

Energy recovery from biomass is a well-established technology worldwide and one that can be integrated
in the current power generation system, the report says. Bermuda has a waste-to-energy plant that processes 300 tons of garbage per day to supply 2.5 megawatts to the national grid.

Taking advantage of these options will require a significant investment in new systems, but the portion of energy coming from costly fossil fuel imports will decline as a result. And strategies can be implemented to reduce development time and minimise transition costs.

In addition to tapping overseas funding sources, the first priority is to change the nation's regulatory framework so that BEC and Grand Bahama Power can contract with independent producers. This means introducing net metering so that non-utility producers can sell power to the grid. The government should also enable carbon trading and take advantage of benefits offered by the UN's Clean Development Mechanism, as we have suggested before (click here).

Private generation facilities could range from individual home PV systems, to commercial-scale facilities at warehouses or resort hotels, to larger utility-scale projects. Other incentives, including tax benefits and the provision of low- or no-cost leases of Crown land, could be considered to promote the growth of renewable energy.

Private developers could be contracted to build utility-scale facilities. In other words, BEC would outsource the generation of renewable energy projects rather than risk its own capital or take on additional debt. Developers would invest their own funds and supply power to the grid at wholesale rates.

The report urges government to revise the building code to require all new commercial buildings to install photovoltaic and solar water systems, launch a bulk buying programme to supply solar systems to the local market, give soft loans and/or tax incentives for homeowners and small businesses to refit their buildings with PV systems, and request developers to build PV utilities on New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco - our most populated islands. Carbon credits could be applied to the bulk purchase of renewable energy systems, or towards new projects, to further reduce costs.

Although small-scale wind power may be viable in some areas of the Bahamas once policies are in place that encourage it through zoning, tax credits and net metering, the report says that wind speeds here average only 4-6 metres per second, making utility-scale generation of power impractical.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is another renewable technology that can produce power as well as fresh water and air conditioning (click here). The report says that the right conditions for this technology exist off Abaco and off New Providence at Clifton. Although not a proven technology, OTEC has the potential to meet most or all of the Bahamas needs for water and power and for this reason more research should be undertaken.

Meanwhile, ocean current generation is in the prototype stage in the United States and Britain, and the report says we have potential for this technology off Grand Bahama and Abaco. Costs are projected to range from 15 to 39 cents per kilowatt hour. Ocean wave generating facilities are already being installed in the US and Europe and the cost of electricity for a utility-scale plant is less than 11 cents per kilowatt hour for sites with wave energy conditions similar to those in the Bahamas, the report says.

"Renewable energy can be the cornerstone of a programme of energy security and sustainable development," the report concludes. "A diverse portfolio of renewable energy sources will insulate the Bahamas from sudden energy price spikes, the tourism industry will be confident about energy costs in making development decisions, residential customers and businesses will enjoy energy savings, and more jobs will be created in the renewable energy industry."

And perhaps the best thing is that the cost of electricity provided by renewable sources will only fall over time. Clearly we can set the pace for other Caribbean nations if we choose to do so and, in the process, secure our national development and energy security.

Comments

[thinsoldier]

Google plans to spend "hundreds of millions" on Green Energy in 2008

http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20071127_green.html

[thinsoldier]

Check out the Meglev wind turbine
http://www.breakitdownblog.com/meglev-wind-turbine-1000x-more-efficient-than-windmill/

It is able to use winds with starting speeds as low as 1.5 meters per second (m/s). Also, it could operate in winds exceeding 40 m/s.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/26/super-powered-magnetic-wind-turbine-maglev/

[EB Christen]

Amen Larry! People come here for sun, sand and sea and two of those 'pretty but useless' resources, according to the old logic, are now shown to be highly productive! Yet, our politicians repeatedly demonstrate that real problem solving and real vision isn't what they are about. I pray that Ingraham decides that he wants to be remembered as the greatest PM in the history of this nation and chases that legacy firmly while hopscotching over the prattling of the peanut gallery in parliament. Please Mr. Ingraham - lead and make the Bahamas great. You can do it - the nation will rally behind you.

[windergy]

Larry would like to know where the studies were taken for wind speed, because i have figures that differ. If Nassau was the center this is understandable. However look where the ocean thermals and currents run. The temprature of the deeper water like on the eastern islands of the Bahamas differ greatly. Since many of the inland or central located islands like Nassau, the Berrys and even Andros are basically located on a plateau. This in turn makes the water temprature just a few degrees less than the land. However if you look at the differential between ocean temps and land temps for places like Abaco, Exuma and Eleuthera's east coasts there is a larger variance which increases thermals.
Also wind can produce power for about $0.07/kw.

[larry smith]

I have asked for clarification.

[larry smith]

The Haley & Aldrich report used wind speed data published by the USDOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that was collected by NASA satellites between July 1983 and June 1993.

The report cited an average January wind speed of 5.5 m/s for New Providence as wind speeds are highest in winter. This data was calculated for a height of 10 meters. We used 10 meters because this would be more applicable to smaller, lower powered turbines that may be used by homes or business (as opposed to bigger, utility applications). Wind speeds increase as one goes higher.

The January data reflecting height is as follows:
10 meters - 5.5 m/s
50 meters - 6.6 m/s
100 meters - 7 m/s

For reference, the July data is:
10 meters - 4.4 m/s
50 meters - 5.4 m/s
100 meters - 5.9 m/s

The significance of these wind speeds relates to the turbine cut-in level below which no electricity is produced. As an example, GE utility wind turbines rated between 1.5 and 3.6 MW have cut-in speeds of 3.5 to 4 m/s. Smaller home scale units will have lower cut-in speeds closer to 3 m/s.

According to the NASA data, the wind in New Providence in January blows at 3-6 m/s 50% of the time, so much of the time the turbines would not be generating power. This would result in a low capacity factor.

Based on this data our report suggested that utility scale generation is unlikely to be feasible because of the limited amount of time the wind would be blowing at economic speeds.

The NASA data does predict higher wind speeds on the Family Islands so smaller turbines with lower cut-in speeds may be feasible for use in the Bahamas. Also, the NASA data is based on satellite measurements, so actual wind speed measurements may show different results.

[Howard White]

Suggest you look at www.ciupinternational.com, this program is being adopted in Indonesia to supply electricity and potable water through the creation of a micro economy linking 3 technologies Biomass, low cost hydrogen fuel cell and reverse osmosis. This program is financially self sustaining with a zero cost base for the electricity.

[FARID FAHIM]

DEAR SIR
GREETINGS
LOGIC-CO IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPANY HAS
RENEWABLE ENERGY: ELECTRICITY.EXTRACTED FROM THE LIGHTNING:
THE RATE OF LIGHTNING IS 100 FLASH PER SECOND ALLOVER THE GLOBE. IF USA HAS 1% OF THE TOTAL FLASHES THIS MEANS 1 FLASH PER SECOND.
FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE, ONE FLASH = 4 STROKES.
EACH STROKE HAS (10)^12 WATT.
THIS MEANS : WHEN LOGIC-CO SUCCEEDS TO GET ONE FLASH ,AND TRANSFORM IT TO ELECTRICITY == THAT IS EQUAL TO A POWER STATION 0F 20 MW WORKS FOR 50 HOURS CONTINOUSELY.
IMAGEN IF WE COULD TRANSFORM ONE FLASH PER MINIUTE ALLOVER USA.
IN THAT TIME NO NEED FOR ANY FUEL COMBUSTION THAT POLLUTES THE ENVIRONMENT.

NOW LOGIC-CO IS SEEKING A PARTENER IN USA TO CLEAN THE ENVIRONMENT, PRODUCING FRIENDLY ENVIRO-ELECTRICITY.

DEAR SIR,
IF YOU ARE INTERESTING, PLEASE, DON'T HESITATE TO E-MAIL LOGIC- CO:
TEL & FAX: 00202 24322655 -
MOBILE: 012 3358572
E-MAIL: logic_co@hotmail.com ,
logicenvironment@yahoo.ca
MAIN OFFICE:
6TH B BAHST BADIA ST(SAUDIA BUILDINGS)
SHOBRA 11241
CAIRO
EGYPT.

[Noel Rodman]

I hear lots of talking about it, but nobody is installing these systems in the Bahamas because the government does not allow Net Metering. Until this is changed, no one will get the full benefit of their Wind/PV/Deep Ocean Current/Lightning/ETC. The problem is, you are able to generate much more power than the average person can consume in 24 hours, even with a small system, but this power is all generated in 5-6 hours of sun. Bahamians need Net Metering so they will get the credit for ALL the power they produce with these private systems, not just the power generated during run times. Making power at .07/KwH is not a problem, but you have to be willing to pay for this power, up front, with the cost of the system. I can show you many systems in California, that generate power at that installed cost. With no incentives from the Government, power can still be produced with Net Metering for around .15/Kwh, which is less than half of what you are paying for power today, but again, you have to be willing to write the check today, for the savings over the next 20-30 years. Hopefully, the Bahamian Government will "get it", and with the help of a lot of lobbying by private persons in the Bahamas, and allow Net Metering, so Bahamians will get the benefits of these systems. Noel Rodman/Sandyport.

[Solar Panel]

Thanks for your post.