Sustainable Energy & Development News
VOL.1 AUGUST 2013
THE MONTHLY REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & DEVELOPMENT NEWS IN THE CARIBBEAN FROM THE REGION”S LEADING INFORMATION PLATFORMS.
This publication is prepared by the Caribbean Energy Information System. What’s Happening Now Across The Region...
$85M Bioethanol Demo Plant Commissioned In light of Sithe Global’s withdrawal from the Amaila Falls Hydro Project, President Donald Ramotar has reiterated his pledge to “look for other partners” in pursuit of cheap and alternative energy. Read more Kimroy Bailey – Building a Community Centre run on Renewable Energy It’s a lesson in humanitarian existence. With a degree in engineering from the University of Technology (UTech), Kimroy Bailey has unselfishly set his early sights not on personal gains, but on helping others through community building. Read more Is Going Solar the Answer to our High Electricity Bills? Solar might just be the answer to our energy problem, but in order to know, we need to ask ourselves a few simple questions. Read more
AUGUST 2013 IN REVIEW BE IN THE KNOW ON RENEWABLE ENERGY
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CIPORE EVENTS, See All Events
Global Geothermal Energy Summit 2013 September 11 - 12, 2013 Ludwigsburg, Stuttgart, Germany Water Expo September 17 -18, 2013 Miami Beach Convention Center Miami, USA
Caribbean Oil, Gas & Power Conference & Exhibition 2013 September 19 - 20, 2013 Atlantis Hotel, Bahamas
Jamaica Alternative Energy Expo September 20 - 21, 2013 Montego Bay Convention Centre, Jamaica
26-8-2013 ||Govt Says Amaila Hydro Project is Dead Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon has described the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project as “dead”, noting that the opportunity to transform the country’s energy sector is no longer available to Guyana. Read more 26-8-2013 || Bioethanol Demonstration Plant Commissioned Guyana’s first bioethanol demonstration plant was commissioned by President Donald Ramotar and Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy at the Albion Sugar Factory on Tuesday. Read more 26-8-2013 || Wigton IDs Four Wind Energy Sites Wigton Windfarm Limited, a subsidiary of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), is reporting encouraging findings from a recently completed Wind Resource Assessment, which identified four locations suitable for wind energy development with a combined potential generating capacity of 212 million KWh annually. Read more 26-8-2013 || Cuba Strides in Renewable Energy Development With the recent launch of a solar energy farm, Cuba has made strides in the renewable energy development as experts say the island country has the potential to become a renewable-energy powerhouse. Read more 26-8-2013 || Agencies Partner to Install Airport Solar Lighting A joint effort by a number of government agencies has led to the installation of solar lights along the entrance to the VC Bird International Airport. The Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority (ABAA), the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), and the Public Works Department (PWD) have worked together to install 14 solar powered lights along the driveway into the airport entrance. Read more 26-8-2013 || ROC Supports Alternative Energy Efforts In SKN The breezes on St. Kitts and Nevis are ideal for the production of wind energy, so says the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Ma Ying-jeou. During a visit to a Solar Plant under construction at St. Kitts RLB Airport on Monday, President Ma appeared so struck by the stiff breezes that were blowing across the site that he departed from his prepared script to comment on the potential for wind energy production. Read more
Energy Caribbean Conference 2013 October 1-2, 2013 The Hilton Trinidad CREF 2013 October 9 - 11, 2013 The Westin Resort and Casino Aruba Carbon Dioxide Utilisation Summit 2013 October 30 - 31, 2013 Brussels, Belgium Caribbean Tourism: The Energy Forum (CTEF) December 10-11, 2013 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
23-8-2013 ||Canadian Solar Modules Selected for Landmark Solar Project Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world’s largest solar power companies, announced its modules will be used for a landmark solar project in the Leeward Islands. Comet Solar, an Anguilla based solar installation company, has selected Canadian Solar for the installation, which at 600 KW is the largest commercial project permitted by the St. Kitts & Nevis Government to date. Read more 22-8-2013 ||Solar Panels Owners need Authorization only if they are Supplying Electricity to the Grid — OUR The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) says that if solar panel owners wish to supply electricity to the public grid a licence is required adding however that no authorization is required from the Office simply for the installation of such panels. Read more 21-8-2013 ||‘No Reason to Delay’ Renewable Energy until 2014 There is “no reason” for the Government to delay decisions on renewable energy proposals until 2014, a leading proponent yesterday calling for it to reintroduce the recently-withdrawn tender for Family Island project. Read more 20-8-2013 ||Green Energy Scheme ‘Could Save BEC $400m a Year’ A UK-based renewable energy power and its Bahamian partners are touting a green energy technology proposal which seeks to ‘revolutionise’ the Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s (BEC) existing electrical system and generate millions in annual cost savings for the country’s major electricity provider. Read more 19-8-2013 || Cuba Invests in Solar, while still Betting on Oil Cuba launched its second photovoltaic solar power park to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, with the recent failures in oil exploration, reported DPA news. Read more 19-8-2013 || Going Solar? Electricians Issue Warning The Jamaica Licensed Electricians Association (JLEA) is warning Jamaicans who plan to install solar panels on their premises that approval must first be granted by regulatory bodies. Read more 19-8-2013 || Hydroelectricity is an Imperative The Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project (AFHEP) is too important a project for Guyana’s present and future development for us to allow it to die. Read more 16-8-2013 || Petroleum Corporation Accepts Three Bids for Solar Energy Project The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) has accepted three bids from local and overseas vendors. The vendors are proposing to supply 18 rooftop solar photovoltaic systems which are being procured for installation at government buildings. Read more 15-8-2013 || Guyana Faces Dark Future Without Hydropower – Research Scientist Guyana can face a dark future, if it fails to turn to hydroelectric power in the near future, Guyanese-born research scientist in Canada, Professor Suresh Narine said. Read more 15-8-2013 || Minister Kenred Dorsett: Government to Reduce Energy Cost for Bahamians The Government of the Bahamas is forging ahead in its quest to provide the Bahamian people with affordable and efficient energy services with the approval a new energy sector strategy for the Bahamas. Read more
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: US Virgin Islands Energy Office Needs Engineer
14-8-2013 || Go Alternative, or Else! Hillary Alexander, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, says numerous Jamaican businesses will continue to fail as a direct result of their owners’ refusal to invest in alternative sources of energy and by so doing, break the country’s high dependence on oil. Read more 14-8-2013 ||Prime Minister Christie on Reforming the Energy Sector of the Bahamas Statement of the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie M.P., Prime Minister, on reforming the energy sector of The Bahamas delivered on August 13, 2013: Read more 12-8-2013 || Ramotar: Still Hope for Amaila Project Saying there is a small window of time for the country’s leaders to rise to the occasion and to make a decision on the Amaila project that is based on patriotism, not partisanship, President Donald Ramotar on Sunday said he has been holding talks with Opposition Leader David Granger to save the project. Read more 12-8-2013 || Not Enough Attention to Alternative Energy Jamaica continues to agonise over the cost of electricity and the capacity to pay for its oil imports. This agony started with the first oil price shock in 1973 and the degree of agony has varied with the ebb and flow of oil prices. The country is in the throes of trying to reduce the cost of electricity and the oil import bill. Read more
REPORTS Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Report: Renewable Energy could power all of Latin America and Caribbean An Assessment of the Economic and Social Impacts of Climate Change on the Energy Sector in the Caribbean Consultancy Report: Study on the Identification of Potential Project Portfolios Associated to Programmatic CDM And NAMAs in Jamaica
9-8-2013 ||Cuba, Venezuela Build Biotech Plants In Africa Cuba began construction of the third of three biotech plants in West Africa this week, as part of a trilateral program funded by Venezuela to battle malaria in the region. Ahead of a groundbreaking ceremony in the capital of Ghana on Aug. 5, officials of Cuba, Venezuela and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met to discuss feasibility, cost, and investment architecture of the program, ECOWAS said in a press release. Another meeting is planned for Venezuela. Read more 5-8-2013 || Cuba’s First Solar Power Plant Starts Operating Cuba’s first solar power plant is in operation, helping the island reduce its reliance on imported oil, state media reported Sunday. The new power plant, which has 14,100 panels built in Cuba, will allow the Caribbean country to double its solar energy production capacity. Read more 2-8-2013 || Green Energy Push Legislation to promote green energy is expected to be on the Order Paper of Parliament from this week, in the lead up to the debate which is expected to take place the week following the August 13, delivery of the Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals. Read more 2-8-2013 || Cuba’s First Solar Farm A Step Toward Renewables It’s like a vision of the space age, carved out of the jungle: Thousands of glassy panels surrounded by a lush canopy of green stretch as far as the eye can see, reflecting the few clouds that dot the sky on a scorching Caribbean morning. Cuba’s first solar farm opened this spring with little fanfare and no prior announcement. It boasts 14,000 photovoltaic panels which in a stroke more than doubled the country’s capacity to harvest energy from the sun. Read more
Content Administrator, CIPORE Caribbean Energy Information System (CEIS), Scientific Research Council (SRC), Hope Gardens, Kingston 6, Jamaica W.I. 876-927-1779(w) | 876-9771840(f) | ceis@src-jamaica.org www.ceis-caribenergy.org www.src-jamaica.org
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august 2013 IN REVIEW
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29-8-2013 ||Climate Change Policy for Cabinet Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, says a climate change policy will be taken to Cabinet by next week for consideration. Read more 28-8-2013 ||JPS Foundation to focus on Creating Model Schools The newly formed JPS Foundation will be focused on creating model schools over the next three years – one early childhood institution in each of the three operational regions of the Company – Region West, South and East. Read more 26-8-2013 ||5Cs to continue a broader mix of regional and national climate change projects The Board of Governors of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre concluded its annual meeting (August 22 -24) in Belize yesterday. Among the key decisions taken, the Centre will continue to pursue a broader mix of regional and national projects and actions, advance efforts to boost its institutional capacity, and expand its collaborative work with the various economic and social sectors, including health, renewable energy and youth. Read more 23-8-2013 ||Five Caribbean States Join Pilot for Energy Efficiency Every year, the Caribbean’s electric sector burns through approximately 30 million barrels of fuel. Overall, the region imports in excess of 170 million barrels of petroleum products annually. Read more 22-8-2013 || Agencies Partner for Installation of Solar Lighting at Entrance to Airport A joint effort by a number of government agencies has seen the installation of solar lights along the entrance to the VC Bird International Airport. Read more
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The Caribbean Information Platform on Petroleum Visit www.cippet.org today! The Caribbean Information Platform on Petroleum (CIPPET) was developed by the Caribbean Energy Information System (CEIS) headquartered at the Scientific Research Council (SRC) in Jamaica. CIPPET will serve as a tool to facilitate the provision of Caribbean Petroleum Energy Information/ Statistics. CIPPET allows access to time series data on energy trends (Supply, Consumption, Transformation/ Electricity, Prices and other Social/Financial indicators) – available from 1985 to present for the Caribbean. Visit www. cippet.org to BE IN THE KNOW!
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18-8-2013 || US Professor Calls on Natural Resources Minister, Discusses Sustainable Forestry, Renewable Energy and Climate Change Mr. Barrus expressed his appreciation to the Minister for organising the meetings with Dr. Alavalapati and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Protected Areas Commission (PAC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier in the week. He noted that Dr. Alavalapati also met with other governmental officials and NGOs throughout the week. Read more 17-8-2013|| Caribbean and Latin American Students Create Posters Emphasizing Environmental Awareness Each year, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) invites students from the Caribbean and Latin America to participate in the annual FCCA Foundation Children’s Environmental Poster Competition. Read more
Content Administrator, CIPORE Caribbean Energy Information System (CEIS), Scientific Research Council (SRC), Hope Gardens, Kingston 6, Jamaica W.I. 876-927-1779(w) | 876-977-1840(f) | ceis@src-jamaica.org www.ceis-caribenergy.org www.src-jamaica.org
17-8-2013 || Energy and VAT Proposals Given Nod Some exhibitors at the Urban Development Comminsion’s Market Day in Bridgetown on Thursday are quite pleased with particular aspects of the Budget Proposals which will directly impact their particular sectors. The main areas are in relation to green energy alternatives and VAT in the hotel sector. Read more 12-8-2013 ||Local Attorney Says Prime Minister is ‘Out of Touch’ on Environment In an appearance on local radio show, Real Talk LIVE with Ortland Bodie, local attorney and a director of the fast-growing environmental coalition Save The Bays, Romauld Ferreira, responded to Prime Minister Christie’s recent dismissal of environmental concerns at Clifton Bay as ‘foolishness,’ labeling those remarks as ‘out of touch’ and reflective of an outdated mode of thinking in the Bahamas. Read more 9-8-2013||Cold Storage Energy Efficiency Tune-ups Help Lower Energy Costs Rarely do industrial facility energy efficiency managers have the sort of capital project budget that allows them to upgrade all of the poor performing equipment in their facility’s systems in a reasonable timeframe. (Unfortunately, even the older industrial systems and equipment that consume lots of energy, might be years away from replacement). If you don’t have the budget for capital upgrades, don’t despair because there are invariably opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of the equipment you already have. Read more
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1-8-2013 ||IIC and KEMCO Promote Energy Efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and Korea Energy Management Corporation (KEMCO) have signed a memorandum of agreement governing a joint project to be carried out in Bolivia under the IIC’s GREENPYME program. The signing ceremony took place at IIC headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Jong-Rip Byun, president of KEMCO, and Mr. Carl Muñana, general manager of the IIC, signed on behalf of their respective organizations. Read more
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CARIBBEAN ENERGy INFORMATION SySTEM (CEIS)
CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP - Benefits Benefits - Corporate Membership- GOLD (US$500.00/year):
Company energy related events posted in Events Listings on SRC and CEIS websites. (Text) Company energy related events posted in Events Listings on applicable information platform*. (Text) One year subscription to CEIS Energy Articles Archives. Placement of CEIS Logo on your website indicating your membership affiliation (1 year). Invitation to participate in Consultancies when available. Access to CEIS Database of Skills (Conditions Apply). Companies can register their Organizations and professional on directories of applicable platforms*. 15% Discount on request for Technical Information (Petroleum and Renewable). Inclusion in mailing list for Sustainable Energy & Development News (SEDN) and Caribbean Petroleum Update. Registration Discounts for SRC/CEIS Media Partnership energy events.
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Company energy related events posted in Events Listings on SRC and CEIS websites. (Text) Company energy related events posted in Events Listings on applicable information platform*. (Text) Six months subscription to CEIS Energy Artiles Archives. Placement of CEIS Logo on your website indicating your membership affiliation (1 year). Companies can register their Organizations and professional on directories of applicable platforms*. 10% Dicount on request for Technical Information (Petroleum and Renewable).
See Benefits Sheet for each Category Type || Complete, scan and email form to ceis@src-jamaica.org or fax to 876-9771840)
Inclusion in mailing list for Sustainable Energy & Development News (SEDN) and Caribbean Petroleum Update. Registration Discounts for SRC/CEIS Media Partnership energy events.
Optional Introductory Benefits
15% discount on Success Story Feature on CIPORE (includes one 10 minutes(max) video – provided by organization, Feature articles, photo gallery relevant to story). 15% discount on Advertising for one (1) full page Advert in one (1) monthly Sustainable Energy & Development News. 15% discount on Advertising for one (1) full page Ad. on one of the three CEIS information platforms: www.cipore.org (ad dimension of 300x200); www.ceebip.org (ad dimension 250x170) www.cippet.org (ad dimension 300x200)
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Placement of CEIS Logo on their website indicating their membership affiliation (1 year). Company energy related events posted in Events Listings on SRC and CEIS websites. (Text) Company energy related events posted in Events Listings on applicable information platform. (Text) Three months subscription to CEIS Energy Archives. Companies can register their Organizations and professional on directories of applicable platforms*. Inclusion in mailing list for Sustainable Energy & Development News (SEDN) and Caribbean Petroleum Update. Registration Discounts for SRC/CEIS Media Partnership energy events.
*Applicable Platforms:
CIPORE – Renewable Energy CEEBIP – Energy Efficiency CIPPET – Petroleum.
See Benefits Sheet for each Category Type || Complete, scan and email form to ceis@src-jamaica.org or fax to 876-9771840)