WeblogBahamas.com

A cleaner, renewable Bahamas for sure. But it’s not going to happen overnight

Michael Reiach

I am about to graduate with a degree in electrical engineering and am planning to specialize in sustainable and renewable sources of energy. Admittedly, I haven’t quite got to the professional engineer status yet but most days I try and relate my studies to The Bahamas. I must give BEC and the Bahamian government credit. Running a power generation and distribution system is not easy. It is even more difficult when you consider the geographic make up of The Bahamas.

I would rather make a comparison of our electrical grid to that in North America, specifically Canada, since we derive our electrical code from them and not the UK or Europe. The grids are based on a 100-year-old mindset. The old idea was that there would be a few large generation stations to power a distribution network for a region. Now the industry is trying to evolve that idea into multiple, smaller generation sites that can alleviate the dependency and demand on central power generators and possibly even feed excess energy into the grid. The Bahamas has taken the old grid approach by developing an independent power system on each island rather than trying to share resources. This has resulted in 29 power stations on over 25 islands.

It’s easier said than done. A large portion - 55% - of the energy in Ontario is generated by nuclear power. Nuclear power plants cannot be turned off in an instant – look at what happened in Japan. Nuclear gets a bad rap, which is too bad. It is very efficient and keeps the fuel surcharge low. Unfortunately, nuclear plants generate far more than the population of The Bahamas could ever demand so I will not be saying anymore about them.

Now onto what Mr Humes was talking about in The Nassau Guardian recently. He said:

“I know the high cost of energy is a major factor when doing business in the country. We have to look at ways of reducing energy costs. We need to introduce renewable energy sources like solar, hydro and wind that all can be used to bring down the cost of doing business,”

You cannot just say that so simply since there are other costs to consider than just generation, but I’ll go with the flow.

So Mr Humes could suggest that we throw lots of money into wind power and then we should have really cheap rates? Some of the highest energy prices are in Europe. Denmark is known as the wind power capital of the world. They cannot cope with the demand and their average price for energy is ~$0.40 per kWh [1] with the majority of energy being supplied by fossil fuels. Last time I checked, BEC was at $0.15 per kWh with a fluctuating fuel surcharge that was below $0.40 per kWh.

Continuing

On introducing renewable energy any time soon: A pipe dream?

 

From GridCarbon iPhone App

Rick Lowe

Mr. Mark Humes, chairman of the DNA, was recently quoted in The Nassau Guardian feature column, "My Ten Cents", as saying "We need to introduce renewable energy sources like solar, hydro and wind that can all be used to bring down the cost of doing business".  (http://bit.ly/A0fT4m)

Preserving the environment is one thing, and it might even be desirable for the political class to encourage us to be more conscious of this, but even a country the size of the United Kingdom relies on coal, gas and nuclear for over 90% of its energy requirements. So is it even feasible at this point in time for an investment in these so called "green" technologies for The Bahamas?

Using an iPhone App that measures the UK Grid Carbon Intensity, developed by the University of Southampton called GridCarbon, only 3.9% of the UK's power was from Wind and .9% from Hydro. Coal accounted for 54.8%, Gas 20.6% and Nuclear 20% (as at 1:45am GMT on February 4, 2012). See image at left.

What is the cost of a wind farm or hydro plant? Where would they have to be placed to work? How about solar panels large enough to run a power grid for an average New Providence neighbourhood? In other words, has a cost benefit analysis been done or are these cute, throw away lines at election time?

Sure, why not dream of a cleaner and cheaper way of producing electricity. But to suggest this technology or even our ability to use it in a practical manner is available and at prices we can afford any time soon, so the price of business will be reduced, is little more than a pipe dream.

Lets protect the environment of course, but we also have to be practical about it.

Burmese pythons thought to be wrecking Florida's Everglades

 

Click on image for more information from www.naturephoto-cz.com

Rick Lowe

I posted those photos of the Everglades yesterday as a result of this article in The International Business Times and other newspapers.

Here's a heartbreaking snippet from the article by Amir Khan:

"The Burmese python is wrecking the Florida Everglades ecosystem and have devastated small mammal populations in the area, according to a recent study. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the number raccoon and possums spotted in the Everglades has dropped more than 98 percent, bobcat sightings are down 87 percent, and rabbits and foxes have not been seen at all in years.

"Burmese pythons are not native to the Everglades. They were spotted since the 1980s, but were established as an invasive species in 2000. It is not known how they originated, but some believe that pet owners abandoned snakes once they reach an unmanageable size (Burmese pythons can grow up to 12 feet). Another theory on how Burmese pythons came to the Everglades is that a holding warehouse filled with imported Burmese pythons was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, releasing the snakes en masse in a single area.

Florida's Fabulous Everglades. Simply incredible.

 The following photos were taken over the years in Florida's Everglades.

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 Click on each image for a closer look.

 

ARKive: Images of Life on Earth

A friend sent a link to ARKive recently and I've poked around it a bit, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Click on the image or link above and explore the many videos and images of "Life on Earth".

Following is a sample of the many types of images that are available for your enjoyment. Click on it to go to the ARKive site.

Rolling Harbour. Another neat blog from Abaco

Describing themselves as an  "...Abaco wildlife blog that covers a wide range of fauna (inc cetaceans), flora, and a great deal else besides…" it's certainly a fun site.

Their "Profile" is a must read. A great sense of humour obviously.

Take a poke around…

The Abaco Scientist - A Great New Site

Started in September 2011, The Abaco Scientist gives us an interesting glimpse into the natural wonders of The Bahamas.

Hope you can take some time to poke around the site, it's very interesting.

Here's how they introduce themselves at the site:

Abaco, just like all of the Bahamian Islands, hosts a wealth of natural wonders. From parrots to whales to blue holes to mangrove wetlands, it is no wonder that scientific research is thriving on the island. The Abaco Scientist is intended as your one-stop source for all things science on Abaco and throughout The Bahamas.

The site is administered by Craig Layman, a faculty member at Florida International University (http://www2.fiu.edu/~laymanc/).  A small number of people currently are authorized to make posts, a diversity of individuals involved with science at different levels on Abaco and throughout The Bahamas.  But everyone is  encouraged to comment - just use the red  ”comment” link in the header of each post.  If you have suggestions, or would like to become a contributor, let me know in any of the comment boxes on any post.

From basic natural history to cutting edge scientific findings, we hope this site inspires you to learn more about the scientific underpinnings of the natural world. Science will play a critical role in addressing the fundamental environmental challenges The Bahamas faces, and everyone’s input is critical.

We hope this site helps you become more involved. So dive right in!!!

Political Propaganda is starting to roll out

Rick Lowe

With elections constitutionally required by May 2012, we knew it had to start and as usual the political propaganda is predictable.

The first group through the neighbourhood so far is the Democratic National Alliance - The DNA, and their standard bearer for Montagu, Ben Albury left a flyer outlining his party's goals at the door.

Really they're simply cute phrases, nothing more than symbolism over substance.

Here's a few of them:

1. Re-Establish Social Protection
2. First-World Global Education and Training 
3. Legitimize, Transform and Authenticate Bahamian Culture
4. Strengthen The Family
5. Rebuild Christian Values
6. Diversify Industry Structure
7. Ensure Food Security and Sustainability
8. Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness

And an obligatory quote from the Bible about vision and perishing is thrown in for good measure of course.

Okay, I'll admit that I'm older and more cynical now, but the reality is governing politicians have their hands so full trying to ensure the Civil Service gets the job done with their current responsibilities that to expect them to do just the eight additional items above is nigh on impossible.

Bahamas Handbook 2012 in stores now

Rick Lowe

Just received a copy of Dupuch Publications, Bahamas Handbook 2012.

As usual it does not disappoint with beautiful photography and extremely well written stories from all over The Bahamas, historical and current.

If you don't have a copy, please go out and buy one from any of our local bookstores. It is undoubtedly the best annual publication in the country.

Visit Dupuch Publications here at Dupuch.com

Sea levels are not rising dangerously

Rick Lowe

According to "the world's pre-eminent expert on sea levels" and based on extensive field observations, sea levels are not rising dangerously.

I know, you want to dismiss me as a "denier" but I have a strong interest in the environment and just don't buy the hype about Glabla Warming.

Find out more here…