by Rick Lowe
I think far too much is being made of the objective to drill for oil. The argument is, if we have a spill it will ruin our reputation as a tourist resort etc.
I agree to an extent, but as the technology continually improves and the oil find is profitable, I would think the experts would take care of those things. Just look how many oil rigs there are in the Gulf of Mexico that go through major storms and how many catastrophes have there been? One in my lifetime?
Maybe those fears overblown?
Then there's the "green energy movement". Mr. Bill Clinton, former US president spoke at the recent Solar Power International Conference and reportedly said "There's too much money and advertising behind yesterday's energy". But is he correct?
I don't agree with him. We have a solar water heater for example and as these technologies improve maybe there will be other things we can install around the house that will be beneficial, but there's still a long way to go.
Maybe one day there will be a major shift to solar products, but that's after the technology improves and is more useful in our day to day lives. Much like fossil fuels are today.
US government subsidies equalling up to 30% of the cost of each solar system cannot be a winning strategy to my mind. Shouldn't the product be viable on its own?
In the final, solar systems might be part of the future of energy but the convenience of fossil fuel in our daily lives, it will be a long time or take some major inventions to displace oil.
The real concern for me with drilling for oil in The Bahamas is the "deal" and the benefit for the country. Come to think of it, that might be sufficient reason to oppose oil exploration here.
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Note: As I was drafting this post, Mr. Leslie Miller (PLP), BEC Chairman, urged the government to consider inviting a "more recognized oil conglomerate with a proven track records must be brought to the table to discuss any plans going forward".
That might not be such a bad idea either, but I'm still getting over the fact that Mr. Miller wanted The Bahamas to get in bed with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela with his loans for oil scheme. Oh he attempts to sell the "deal" as oil prices that don't fluctuate, but of course he simply neglects to talk about the other side of the ledger – The additional national debt that would be accumulating.
Drill baby drill.Make my payment out to BEC,free electricity for all ! Oil spills should not bother Bahamians,they dump enough garbage on the beaches now anyway.Who cares,not Bahamians from what I can see.
I agree with what you have written, but will add that the industry is experiencing a level of over production in solar panels, along with cutbacks in subsidies at the state Govt level. (U.S.)
Along with Chinese dumping allegations, and high tariffs placed on U.S. imports of Chinese panels, things are a bit messy.
With a hand up came the inevitable removal of the hand!
The funds were allocated for subsidies were allocated in budgets, and became over subscribed.
Large project build outs will continue through 2013-14 based on existing commitments.(globally)
In any even, at $0.38-40/kwh, subsidies are unnecessary.
Payback of moderate residential solar systems should be on the order of 3 years at this point.
While financing is not readily available for this initiative, once the ball starts rolling, the banks will see opportunity.
Mind, the Government still has great potential to screw it up.
Historically speaking, they always do.
Incidentally the successive government administrations have been trying to write new legislation to “regulate” alternate energy, and other things for probably 5 years but if the BTC sale is any indicator of how fast it may now happen we’ll have to wait awhile.
Also interesting is some of the terminology being thrown around by BEC and the Government, namely “franchise fees” or “public/private partnerships” and a few others.
While other Governments are subsidizing or underwriting efforts in the private sector, ours seem to be looking at ways to tax it.
There are two other existing examples but I won’t mention them here.
suffice to say, they have the mindset and the capability to kill it before it exists.
Still, people are getting sick and tired of the rates and outages, and the politicization of what should be a simple and worthy endeavor well under way.
Why do some of us continue to want to deal with tyrannical despots is beyond logic and reason.. This is certainly not in the best interest of our country to get in bed with leftest dictators like Hugo Chavez.. There must be something under the table that we do not know about.. We had better remember that we are being judged by the company we keep.. We may someday regret our new found relationship the PRC and to add Venezuela to the list will certainly alienate friendly countries like the United States..
By adding more and more debt to our already blotted deficit which is currently over 4.5 billion is creating financial bubble that when it explodes will literally bankrupt the nation.. To pay tomorrow what we consume today is foolhardy at best, and burdens future generations of Bahamians with the financial obligations we are so irresponsibly placing on their shoulders.. This is not nation building but a reckless path to insolvency.. It is time to speak out against irresponsible financial behavior and demand financial prudence in the management of our countries affairs..