President Obama puts clean, renewable power in stark contrast to dirty fuels

Liz Barratt-Brown

In a forceful speech tonight, President Barack Obama asked America to join him in bringing about a revolution in how we produce and use energy.  Already in his young presidency, he has signaled his desire to regulate greenhouse gases from cars and trucks, increase their fuel efficiency, and put in place high speed rail and other farsighted transportation policies.  Last week, he signed into law a stimulus package with $80 billion dollars - nearly a tenth of the overall package – in renewable energy, energy efficiency and cleaner forms of transportation. Tonight, he called on Congress to enact a market based cap on global warming pollution to help make clean energy the most profitable and help our nation tackle two huge issues – our dependence on oil and global climate change.

One of the President’s first lines tonight was “we import more oil today than ever before”. He went on to say that this dependence is “our responsibility” and that this is a time for bold action. He continued that “it is time for America to lead again” dedicating his administration to change the way we produce energy as one of his three top priorities. He committed to doubling the nation’s supply of renewable energy in three years and making our homes and buildings more energy efficient. Framing this was his statement that “we know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century”.

Last week, the President made his first foreign trip of his presidency to Canada. His words there were gentle but he gave the same message.  As he said tonight, “to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. “  It’s hard to miss the underlying message that the days of producing energy and oil at any cost are over.  Dirty fuels – like coal in the U.S. and Canada and oil from the Canadian tar sands – now stand in stark contrast to his commitment to build our infrastructure around renewable energy rather than new pipelines and expanded refineries to process more dirty tar sands oil.

The President also made it clear last week in Canada that these measures that will make us more energy secure.  Payments for foreign oil drain nearly a trillion dollars every year from our economy in the form of debt. Our addiction to oil has put Americans and innocent civilians in harms way in the Middle East, lined the pockets of dictators, and despoiled some of our last wilderness areas in North America and around the world. And most fundamentally, our energy use is driving our planet inexorably towards catastrophic global warming. In recognition of this challenge, he said in Ottawa:

“We are very grateful for the relationship that we have with Canada, and Canada being our largest energy supplier, but I think that increasingly we have to take into account that the issue of climate change and greenhouse gases is something that’s going to have an impact on all of us and as two relatively wealthy countries, it’s important for us to show leadership”

How will Canada respond?

This week, Ontario will introduce a path breaking clean energy act. British Columbia has long led in producing advanced batteries and fuel cells. Alberta and the plains provinces have some of the world’s best wind power. Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba are expected to introduce low carbon fuel standards modeled on California’s vanguard effort to reduce carbon in our fuels. And many provinces are now moving to protect the Boreal forest, our largest land-based terrestrial storehouse of carbon.  There is much opportunity to work together.

But like the U.S. dependency on coal (and on tar sands oil as Canada’s largest customer), we have the challenge of making sure that these opportunities become the mainstream and that the old and perilous sources of energy rapidly become relegated to the past.

The production of tar sands oil is a challenge for both the U.S. and for Canada. But what is heartening is that our President is saying we need to move on.  By putting in place a cap on pollution and transportation policies like more stringent fuel economy and low carbon fuel standards, we can reduce our dependence on tar sands oil. What remains to be seen is whether Canada will join in this effort and start to shift its economic engine from the tar sands to greener forms of energy production and let the Boreal forest do what it does so well on its own – regulate our climate.

As the President said, “It is time for America to lead again.” Indeed. It is time for all of North America to lead again.

URL: Cuba Gets Green Cred

November 14, 2008—Cuba is the only country that meets the criteria for sustainable development from the conservation group WWF.

to see the video click the title – it will carry you to a great 3 min national geographic video of Cubas’ Green Movement and the Saving of the Loggerhead Tortises; including Cuba’s fight for a complete ban to capture of Tortises.

Absolutely Hillarious Commercial about Solar Energy

JPS taps renewable energy – Work slated to begin on two projects in January

Jamaica Gleaner – Sunday | November 16, 2008

Callum (left) and Geddes.

Shelly-Ann Thompson, Staff Reporter

THE JAMAICA Public Service Company (JPS) has decided to use two renewable energy sources for its plant, gradually reducing its dependence on oil for electricity generation.

The light and power company said work is to commence on the two projects, which involves the use of hydro and wind power, by January, with implementation slated to begin in 2011.

Winsome Callum, head of corporate communications at the JPS, said any renewable energy addition to the grid would generally reduce the dependence on oil.

“We are very optimistic about the impact this will have on the overall fuel costs to customers and to the JPS,” she said.

Callum, however, cautioned that with regard to customer billing, final negotiations on tariff rates and other project details on the use of renewable energy are to be finalised.

These projects will result in the addition of more than nine megawatts of new generating capacity.

Benefit in the long run

Meanwhile, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has said that customers may not see a direct impact on their bills for some 10-15 years after implementation.

“This will benefit customers in the long run because the rate will fall with very little overhead in about 10 years,” said David Geddes, director of consumer and public affairs at the OUR, adding that renewable energy would benefit the nation overall.

However, he pointed out that the JPS, even after implementing the project, would still have to pay energy charges, a premium of 15 per cent added to its cost for not using fuel.

While the switch to renewables would not affect billing immediately, Geddes pointed to some of the benefits that would immediately accrue, among which are acleaner environment, less dependence on foreign exchange and imported fuels.

The total amount of oil imported in 2007 was 29.9 million barrels compared with 30.9 million barrels the previous year.

Even with this reduction in import volume, the cost to import oil increased from US$1.84 billion to US$2.01 billion.

The JPS says, since January, it has incurred more than J$37 billion in fuel costs.

The projects being undertaken by the JPS are a 6.3-megawatt hydroelectricity power plant in Maggoty, St Elizabeth, and a three-megawatt wind farm in Munro of the same parish.

Geddes said in keeping with the Government’s energy policy, the OUR periodically, will invite persons to bid for up to 60 megawatts of renewable energy.

Energy policy

The energy policy outlines that about 15 per cent of the national grid should be supplied by renewable energy.

Recently, the light and power company and about seven other entities, a few operating outside of the island, submitted bids.

Of three bids submitted by the JPS, only one was rejected, said Geddes.

The other bid that may be approved is a renewable energy project sourced from waste, proposed by HGC Corporation out of The British Virgin Islands (BVI).

“We indicated to them that we had conditionally approved their bid,” said the director.

The BVI firm needs to satisfy six conditions, among which are financial arrangements and how the waste would be acquired.

While the the new hydro project will involve the expansion of an existing hydroelectricity plant, the wind farm project will be the first to be implemented by the JPS. A three-megawatt turbine is being built as a pilot, with plans for future expansion.

Both renewable energy projects are expected to cost an estimated US$38.7 million (J$2.94 billion).

The company said it was also exploring a number of other initiatives as part of its efforts to reduce dependence on oil. These include the recent partnership agreement with Petrojam for the construction of a Petcoke plant at Hunts Bay in the Corporate Area. Additionally, the JPS is working to implement a project to convert the Bogue combined cycle plant in Montego Bay to use compressed natural gas, and the rehabilitation of the Constant Spring hydro plant in St Andrew.

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