The Bahamas Electricity Corporation held a town meeting with over 800 Abaco residents at a town meeting at the New Vision Ministries Church in Marsh Harbour to discuss the power plant under construction in Wilson City, Abaco. Government ministers and other senior officials attended the meeting. Pictured from left: the Hon. Earl Deveaux Minister of the Environment; the Hon. Phenton Neymour Minister of State Responsible for Utilities, Fred Gottlieb, Chairman, BEC and Kevin Basden, General Manager, BEC. (BIS photo/Letisha Henderson)
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Marsh Harbour, Abaco – The
Bahamas Electricity Corporation power plant under construction in Wilson
City, Abaco, is being built using best international practices, and
is being monitored by government agencies, Minister of State for Utilities
the Hon. Phenton Neymour assured Abaco residents on Thursday, September
10.
Mr. Neymour was addressing
over 800 Abaco residents at a town meeting at the New Vision Ministries
Church in Marsh Harbour. The meeting was held to provide residents
with a forum to address their concerns over the construction of the
new BEC power plant in Wilson City.
The three main issues related
primarily to air pollution, use of heavy fuel oil (Bunker-C) as the
energy source for the plant and the potential impact on water resources.
Prime Minister the Rt. Hon.
Hubert A. Ingraham, the Hon. Earl Deveaux, Minister of the Environment;
Mr. Fred Mitchell, MP for Fox Hill; and Mr. Obie Wilchcombe, MP for
Bimini and West End, Grand Bahama, attended the meeting.
General Contractor, MAN Diesel engineering firm, Carlos Escobar Bruno leads officials and the media on a tour of the new Wilson City Power Plant in Abaco. (BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson).
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“As we all
know, no development, no infrastructure, no act of man, is without an
environmental impact. The responsibility of the Government and every
citizen is to mitigate or minimize the adverse impacts that progress
and development naturally make,” said Mr. Neymour.
“In the case of Abaco, no
one can deny the need and urgency for an expanded and more reliable
electrical supply. The age and capacity of the plant is insufficient
and it is inefficient to continue adding load incrementally thereby
increasing costs,” Mr. Neymour added.
He said the
main question is how to meet the required timelines and to mitigate
the possible adverse environmental impacts.
Fred Gottlieb Chairman BEC, addressed residents of Abaco during a town meeting on the concerns of the new power plant being constructed in Wilson City. (BIS photo/Letisha Henderson)
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“The plant
that BEC is building, I am advised, will be the most modern in the Family
Islands. The best international practices have been encouraged in the
selection and construction of this type of facility,” Mr. Neymour
said.
He said that
all international standards are being adhered to, and environmental
issues are being monitored by several agencies, including the Water
and Sewerage Corporation, and the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology
(BEST) Commission.
Minister Deveaux said that
Bahamians can also play a role in assisting BEC.
“BEC as a utility has an
obligation to satisfy the demands of energy and power to businesses
and households. In doing so, BEC has to look at the larger picture.
BEC can’t, at this stage, incrementally accommodate renewable energy
sources in its energy mix,” Minister Deveaux said.
Individuals, he said, have
the ability to impact their energy load and BEC significantly.
General contractor, MAN Diesel engineering firm, Carlos Escobar Bruno explains to Minister of State for Public Utilities, the Hon. Phenton Neymour what is happening at the site of the Wilson City Power Plant being constructed in Abaco. (BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson).
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“You can make simple household
level decisions and business decisions that have a far-reaching impact
on your energy load. If you change your water heater to solar, convert
your light-bulbs to CFL or LED bulbs, paint your roof white and purchase
energy-efficient devices, you can have a 20-30 percent impact on your
energy load and have a ripple effect on BEC, which would then freeze
up money to invest in other technologies. And that is something I would
ask you to do,” Mr. Deveaux said.
BEC General Manager Kevin Basden
said the present power station is not capable of meeting the projected
needs of Abaco and falls short of providing the service presently required.
“To do noting is not an option
and growth on the island – the mainland and the keys – continues,”
he said.
BEC Chairman
Mr. Fred Gottlieb also said the current plant is obsolete, and has machinery
that is, in some cases, over 30 years old.
“The capacity
is barely sufficient to meet peak demand – the present capacity is
27 megawatts and the peak demand is in the vicinity of 24 megawatts,”
said Mr. Gottlieb.
Mr. Neymour
said that Wilson City was selected as the most suitable after careful
consideration.
“Alternative
sites were also considered including Snake Cay, Marsh Harbour and Wilson
City, but after review found that the most suitable
site was Wilson City,” Mr. Neymour said.
He said BEC
has indicated that it consulted with Friends of the Environment, Chamber
of Commerce, and the Antiquities and Monuments Corporation, and that
neither group expressed significant objection at the time.
“The BEST
Commission and the Water and Sewerage Corporation were also consulted
as to the possible impacts and their mitigation,” Mr. Neymour said.
The new plant will consists
of four, new state-of-the-art 12-megawatt diesel engines, which can
run on both diesel and Bunker-C fuel.
Government ministers, senior officials and stakeholders toured the new Wilson City Power Plant in Abaco on Thursday. (BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson)
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“I will not
discuss the obvious cost benefits except to say that estimates indicate
that the operational cost of the new plant would increase by $3.5 -
$7 million annually if it is not used. Coupled with the facts, and I
emphasize facts, about Bunker C, this additional cost is not economically
feasible as BEC reportedly is experiencing losses in Abaco of $7 –
$8 million annually,” Mr. Neymour said.
Mr. Neymour
said that the facts about Bunker C (HFO) include its use worldwide,
including the Caribbean, Europe, Central and South America, Near, Middle,
and Far-East.
“HFO is a residual fuel similar
to RC-250 that is used to construct our Family Island roads. It is considered
by some as no more of a health risk than gasoline and diesel when it
comes to short-term exposure. As with any petroleum fuel, prolonged
contact is not desirable,” he said.
Mr. Neymour
also made referred to a letter recently published in the press from
a local doctor who was extremely critical of the use of Bunker C fuel
oil and its potential carcinogenic effects.
Mr. Neymour
quoted from a report from the Environmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment
Division of the Department of Environmental Health Services on the potential
carcinogenic effects of Bunker C.
Hundreds of Abaco residents packed the New Visions Ministries Hall in Marsh Harbour to attend a town meeting where they voiced their concerns on the new power plant, which is under construction in Wilson City. (BIS photo/Letisha Henderson)
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The report
stated: “There is no reason the public at large should come into contact
with Bunker C fuel, particularly not on a sustained basis to induce
carcinogenic effects……… While it has been stated that carcinogenic
effects have been observed in test animals exposed to some components
of Bunker C, it should be noted that these results cannot be extrapolated
to humans at the levels, beyond what the average human would experience
even at occupational exposures.”
Concerns were also raised regarding
the transshipment of fuel. Mr. Neymour also addressed concerns
of residents regarding the transshipment of fuel.
“The three
major oil companies ship millions of gallons of fuel throughout The
Bahamas daily with an impeccable record. Part of the site selection
process was to ensure that the risk assessment standards were met for
the transshipment of fuel. The safest possible route was selected,”
Mr. Neymour said.
He added
that other quality control and assurance steps being taken include X-Ray
inspection of all pipeline welds and pressure testing, along with operational
steps such as the flushing, metering and emptying of the pipeline after
each tanker discharges.
Mr. Neymour
said the government’s has not dismissed the idea of pursuing alternative
energy resources.
He said that
steps are currently being taken to implement a national energy policy,
which will allow Bahamians to tap into other forms of energy sources.
“This new
electrical facility does not hinder Abaco from pursuing other renewable
technologies,” Mr. Neymour said.
The panelists included Mr.
Deveaux, Mr. Neymour, Mr. Gottlieb, Mr. Basden, Mr. Jerome Elliott,
Assistant General Manager, Engineering, BEC; Stephan May, Senior Vice-President,
MAN Diesel Engineering; Mr. Philip Weech, Director, BEST Commission;
a Representative of Kalimantan Environmental Services, Inc., and Mr.
Pericles Maillis, attorney and conservationist.