Coal power to the rescue

Former OUR head warns that bauxite industry will die if alternative energy is not implemented

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

WITH AT least four new coal-powered energy plants being considered for construction in the country, former director general of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Winston Hay, wants the Government and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) to lead a public-education campaign aimed at demystifying the arguments around the use of coal as an environmentally acceptable source of energy.

"The people who know and have an understanding should be more outspoken. Think about it, NEPA is the agency with responsibility to protect the environment and they have said that a modern coal-burning plant would have less adverse environmental impact than the oil we are now burning," Hay commented during an interview with The Sunday Gleaner.

He said that people who oppose coal, "if they really think that they are right about coal being bad, they are to show that NEPA is wrong".

Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell announced in Parliament last week that the Cabinet has given approval to grant UC Rusal a bauxite levy concession for an additional two years in respect of the Ewarton Plant on the condition that the company constructs a coal-fired energy solution at the plant.

Paulwell also said he had inked a memorandum of understanding with Chinese company Xinfa for the construction of a plant at the site of the Reynolds mine in St Ann, which could lead to the export up to 4.5 million tonnes of bauxite annually for 25 years, and the construction of a two- million tonne per annum coal-fired alumina plant.

Another coal plant is earmarked for the Jamalco refinery at Halse Hall, Clarendon, by 2017-2018, and another such plant is being proposed for the Goat Islands in the protected Portland Bight area, where China Harbour has proposed to build a port as part of the country's logistics hub initiative.

According to Hay, without the acceptance of coal as fuel for power generation, the logistics hub will not become a reality. Last Friday, Hay told The Sunday Gleaner that Jamaica's bauxite industry has no future without an energy solution and coal offers the best prospect.

"We are not competitive anymore and if we are to be competitive, we have to reduce the cost of producing and refining the ore," said Hay.

He argued that Paulwell should be using NEPA as the basis and show that coal will not be injurious to the environment.

Jamaica's National Energy Policy provides for a strategy that will see the introduction of natural gas into the energy mix as well as more solids such as coal.

"The move from liquid fuels for electricity generation to natural gas and solids is an undertaking long recognised by much of the world. Indeed, much of the developed world built their economies using as much as 80 per cent of electricity generation from coal. Times have changed and in its efforts to achieve its policy objectives, any responsible government must consider all its options," Paulwell said in Parliament.

The minister stressed that the bauxite/alumina industry is uncompetitive due to high fuel costs, and argued that, "the future will be bleak without an energy solution".

"The crux of the matter is that the revival of our alumina industry - a key plank of our quest for sustainable growth - is dependent on high volumes of steam for calcination. Without a source of low-cost steam, the prospect of restoring the bauxite/alumina sector will be negatively impacted," said Paulwell.

He added: "This is where coal has a huge advantage and the investors in that sector have indicated their intention to use coal as their preferred energy source. Notwithstanding, we are mindful of the negative effects associated with the use of coal for electricity production".

Paulwell told Parliament that other fuel sources have negative impacts but noted that there are mechanisms used to manage these impacts.

"Jamaica's environmental standards are well established. They are consistent with international standards and as such coal will be no different from other technologies in our requirement to meet the standards for steam and electricity production," said Paulwell.