We should return to the energy drawing board

Posted By Staff Writer On August 4, 2013 @ 5:02 am In Letters | No Comments

With the technology available today hydropower should not be considered feasible for countries close to the equator

Posted By Staff Writer On August 4, 2013 @ 5:03 am In Letters | No Comments

Another TK-style theoretician coming up with academic positions.  Well, I guess everyone must have their say and seek their moment in the sun!

And your point is? 

Politicians must not allow Amaila to become another Skeldon Plant or Berbice Bridge – Dr. Janette Bulkan

“Even if late in the day, now is the time to have expert independent input and check on the project developer’s figures, to inform the members of all political parties in the National Assembly and civil society in general.  It is surely not acceptable for the Government to try to co-opt individuals by taking them into private meetings and showing them documents; that is neither transparency nor the freedom to receive information which is assured by Article 146 of the National Constitution.”

By Abena Rockcliffe

The saying, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” was the stark reminder of Dr. Janette Bulkan, as she appealed to politicians to not have the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project become a repeat of the Skeldon Sugar Factory or the Berbice River Bridge.
“Guyanese cannot afford to subsidise another investment like the Berbice River Bridge.”
Dr. Bulkan is an anthropologist who has been quite vocal on issues regarding Guyana’s forestry practices and more recently the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.

In a recent open letter to the media, Bulkan urged that politicians be cognizant of the mistakes Guyana made in the past as it relates to project investments. She singled out as glaring examples the Berbice River Bridge, the Skeldon Plant and the controversial Marriott Hotel.
Dr. Bulkan is asking for parliamentarians to seek a ’Green Paper’ which she said will help to avert another failed project.

A ‘Green Paper,’ can be defined as a discussion document intended to stimulate debate and launch a process of consultation on a particular topic. It usually presents a range of ideas and is meant to invite interested individuals or organizations to contribute views and information.

It may be followed by a ‘White Paper’—an official set of proposals.
Bulkan said that a ‘Green Paper’ should be independently done on the Amaila Falls project.Contacted yesterday, she told Kaieteur News that an independent expert opinion on the Amaila project “is very well needed.”

Bulkan who emphasized that she is a “concerned citizen,” advised that such a document will weigh the pros and cons of the Amaila project.
In her appeal to politicians, Bulkan expressed that “the briefings provided by the Sithe Global/Blackstone Group to the Parliamentary Sectoral Committees on Natural Resources and Economic Services and to the National Stakeholders Forum are no substitute for a Green Paper that includes the findings of independent objective technical and financial assessments.”

She referred to the National Stakeholders’ Forum on Wednesday last, where “Sithe Global stressed that it had spent US$16M and six years so far on the Amaila project; although it was not explained how the money had been spent other than ‘hundreds of scientists working on environmental issues” and said that it was odd that there are no published reports from these hundreds of scientists in the public domain.

Dr Bulkan, in her appeal requested politicians to adequately register the need for an independent green paper.

“If Guyanese taxpayers had had the benefit of an external review, we might have been spared the debt burden of the white elephant named Skeldon Sugar Factory whose costs to date are US$200M, and counting.”

She added that Guyanese might have had an alignment of the Berbice River Bridge that did not turn New Amsterdam into a backwater settlement; a toll that did not cost G$2,200 per car versus the Demerara River Bridge toll of G$200 per car.
“While the Berbice River Bridge was being constructed, the majority of poor Berbicians might have thought that they would be paying the same toll as the Demerara River bridge commuters. They lost corn and husk: there is no alternative cheap ferry. They must use the Berbice River Bridge. Wealthy investors are the principal beneficiaries of that bridge; the State has been foregoing revenues so that the privileged investors can earn dividends,” Bulkan stated.

She also said that the use of taxpayers’ money to fund the construction of a casino/hotel named the Marriott, by a Chinese company, using Chinese labour, and that will bring no named social or economic benefits to Guyana, could have also been avoided.

“Dr Luncheon has already signaled that the casino will be sold…Guyanese have been speculating on the identity of the likely beneficiaries. We would not have embarked on an unnecessary expansion of the Timehri Airport at great social and economic cost.”

“The drip, drip, drip of varying estimates of the component costs of this major construction project and associated commercial debts give no confidence that the Government knows what it is agreeing to with Sithe Global Inc. – whose only other venture into hydropower is the expensive and poorly-managed construction at Bujagali in Uganda, although the same personnel working for another Sithe company are said to have built other hydels. No details were provided other than a dam in Philippines.  Sithe clearly does not want to get sucked into questions about the management and capabilities of GPL and whether GPL can pay the future debt in full and on time.”

Bulkan also pointed out that the current draft agreement commits to Sithe getting the first cut of GPL income paid into Republic Bank, before GPL itself gets any money to pay its own costs.

However, Blackstone/Sithe confirmed that they would be willing to assist in the preparation of a Green Paper to the National Assembly, laying out objectively, in sufficient detail, the pros and cons of different options for future supply of electricity, including the final line item costs to the Guyanese taxpayer. Until now, the Government appears to have been considering only the single option of Amaila Falls and only cost estimates provided by the project partners.

“Even if late in the day, now is the time to have expert independent input and check on the project developer’s figures, to inform the members of all political parties in the National Assembly and civil society in general.  It is surely not acceptable for the Government to try to co-opt individuals by taking them into private meetings and showing them documents; that is neither transparency nor the freedom to receive information which is assured by Article 146 of the National Constitution,” Bulkan said.

“I hope that our Parliamentarians will think long and hard before voting for something that could turn into another Berbice Bridge — one in which most of the benefits are privatized, even while all the costs are socialised.  We do not need another Berbice Bridge — the costs borne by the average Guyanese, a cash cow for the private investor.”

Another TK-style theoretician coming up with academic positions.  Well, I guess everyone must have their say and seek their moment in the sun!

Should I assume you are daft? 

You can assume what you want, it's of no consequence such as these convoluted positions you support.

TK support national power by bagasse and ethanol, a model never found feasible in any country.  This banna talking solar panels, a technology still not competitive and reliable to be a backbone power source.

Alyuh more smart tan the rest of the world, yet no one ever heard of alyuh.

I knew you are daft:

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/...eepchand_bagasse.pdf

A Sugarcane Industry

(The following are the concluding excerpts from the 2008 five-part series on reviving the sugar industry)

Regarding the plans for the industry, there was a Strategic Plan unveiled in 1998, but which has been revised several times in the intervening decade – primarily to deal with the changing global environment for sugar.

The lands for sugar were going to be increased in Berbice and there was going to be a diversification, within the industry: co-generation of electricity from bagasse for sale to the national grid, alcohol production from a new distillery and a refinery for producing white sugar. There was going to be the packaging of some sugar for the retail trade – initially at Blairmont – which could increase its value immensely. Most recently we heard of the possible production of Ethanol.

We believe that the industry can be made viable within a regime that more clearly articulates the de facto change in strategy from a sugar industry to a sugarcane industry. The change is more than semantic. At the most mundane level it stresses the fact that all the end products – sugar (bulk and packaged; raw and refined), electricity, alcohol, ethanol – depend on sugar cane being supplied and therefore its production must be given the central role in any future strategy.

For instance, in the Skeldon Sugar Modernization Project (SSMP), the impression was given that in the US$180 million investment, somehow the factory alone was going to save the industry. But the factory’s cost will only be justified if we produce the requisite sugarcane at the lowest cost. Each ensuing product from the sugar cane can then be applied towards the over cost of its production – not just sugar.

In addition to the above-mentioned product mix from sugar cane, we suggest that the production of biogas be made standard at all sugar factories – including the ones in Demerara. Molasses and bagasse are not the only waste products in the production of sugar from sugarcane – the wash and press-mud are extremely rich in methane or bio-gas – which can be extracted and bottled for commercial sale or for providing fuel to the fleet of vehicles used in the sugar cane cultivation.

The vehicles would have to be slightly modified. A month ago, DDL announced that it was installing a bio-gas plant to extract methane from the wash produced in its distillery. This technology is not an insignificant one and it forms the basis of Europe’s strategy to reduce its dependence on gas from Russia. There would be a huge savings for our sugarcane operations, resulting in a drop in unit costs.
The generation of electricity from bagasse ought to be seen not simply as a subsidiary operation from the production of sugar, but as an economic enterprise on its own merits. Mauritius embarked on this road since the mid-eighties and ten out of its present factories have co-generation capabilities that,by 2004, exported 240MW of electricity to the national grid: this is about equal to our entire generating capacity (226MW). There are plans to further consolidate their factory operations and increase the quantity of co-generated electricity for export.
For the Demerara plantations, the co-generation potential would be augmented if the present four factories in East and West Demerara were consolidated into two – one in each sector. This would only make redundant some of the factory workers who could be employed in the co-generation plants and other plants that will be proposed. If the power generation is evaluated from its own capabilities, some of the Type III lands in Demerara that give such poor yields for sugar cane could be converted into fuel cane that are hardier but generate more fibre and thus more energy in power generation. Unlike the sugar cane, the fuel cane can also be harvested in sub-optimum weather since sunlight to maximise sucrose content is not a factor: the number of available days in the wetter Demerara Plantations could then be increased, lowering unit costs.

While the administration recognises the need for shaking up the present management team from their complacency, there has to also be a complete reorganisation of that team to deal with the new orientation. The field operations will have to be given greater weight in the allocation of management responsibilities and consequently a commensurate increase in management status and remuneration. The field will have to be accepted as the place where “the action is” – especially in the Demerara Plantations, where the soils and rainfall (heavy) are least favourable for the cultivation of sugarcane. We will have to retain or regain some “old head” field managers who will ensure that we do not embark on inappropriate innovations such as “high density planting” taken from the totally different Australian experience.
Corruption, which eats away at least a quarter of the profits of the industry, must be tackled vigorously.

Dem boys seh…Amaila is not a ready-made dress

No tricks no living is something old people does always seh when dem talking bout a scamp. Dem does use that same statement when dem children trying to smart dem just like how Brazzy and he kavakamites dem trying to smart Guyanese.
Dem boys only find out de other day that dem don’t have a design fuh de Amaila Falls but dem have a price. That price jump from US$350 million to US$650 million then to US$840 and now it climb to US$858 million. Dem waiting to see it climb to something else.
Now that got to be strange because if a man building a house and he ain’t got a design or a plan fuh de house then he can’t know wha de price gun be. He can’t tell nobody how much money he gun spend. Nobody know if is a one-bedroom or a mansion he building.
Is de same thing if a woman want a dress, de seamstress got to measure de woman to know how much cloth she got buy.  De woman might be a slim woman like Julia Roberts who want a mini or it might be a full figure woman like Oprah Winfrey or Bibi Shadick who want nuff pleat and flounce and frill. Of course dem things gun tek more cloth and that gun push up de cost. Dem two size gun vary in price because dem have de measurement.
Dem have dress that is ready made. Dem even got one size fit all but that can’t fit Brazzy. De pumpkin jump suit wha de Feds gun mek gun fit he, Barbie and de rest of dem. Dem boys seh that Amaila is not a ready-made project or a one size fit all. Yet Brazzy give de nation a price of US$4 million per megawatt when de rest of de world buy fuh US$3 million per megawatt.
Dem boys seh that if de people think de scampishness done deh, dem lie. Brazzy admit that Amaila after one year can’t generate enough power to supply Guyana.  He plan de next year to build another one. Well wha happen to de feasibility study? It got to be that Jagdeo and Brazzy and all dem planners tek Guyanese fuh fools.
It like de man who plan to buy a bicycle and mek a li’l bridge fuh ride over knowing that one year down de line he gun buy a car. He know that he got to mek a big driveway and gun scrap de li’l bridge. Fuh one, de bridge can’t tek de weight of de car suh is a whole new foundation.
Or is like a man who build a one bedroom house fuh he and he wife. When de children come is either de man expand or de children sleep under de bed. And Brazzy can’t fit under no bed.
As old people seh, no tricks no living.
Talk half and watch fuh de tricks.

You should study the pitfalls and risk and limitations posed.  This is an island nation whose economy was primarily sugar and well concentrated.  Even with that, the viability of Bagasse is linked to the viability of Sugar and the preferential EU price.  Still, they exploited Hydro and Coal and fossils are a major component of their power source

So, is this the best you have?  This shows your lack of deep thought and an understanding of the building of economic strategic depth.

Even Mr Dev a good friend of Mr Jagdeo and Mr Ramsaroop agrees on the bagasse strategy. 

I don't say if you have a viable sugar industry, you should not exploit bagasse.  However, bagasse cannot be a national power strategy as it is not a standalone resource and leaves a nation exposed to the viability of another industry which is going through changes of it's own.

Any nation needs a a separate and sound source of power and not just a byproduct of another industry.

I see you are now dancing on your head. It is quite comical. 

How you come to that?  Seems you are the one prancing, defending your position that Dev and Jagdeo and Ramroop support that Bagasse strategy after I debunked your "Mauritius model".  So now you taking comfort from Jagdeo's position, what a joker you are.  I don't think you even understand the difference between a national power strategy and a strategy for exploiting Bagasse for power generation.

There is a difference you clown.  Jagdeo is way ahead of you, back to the drawing board.

I never said Mr Jagdeo or Mr Ramroop support bagasse or ethanol or anything like that. They would only support a venture from which they earn substantial padding to their foreign bank accounts. I merely pointed out that their intellectual guru Mr Dev supports the bagasse strategy which others like Mr Khemraj supports. 

Ok, I give you that, my mistake, but your old boss Dev got no where, so what makes him lord of the ring.  JB/TK, quit before you embarrass yourself more.  Your starting point on any topic is your achilles heel.

Tarron Khemraj needs to return to Kindergarten and try learn his ABC!!!

Who or what is TK? By the way, are you not a member of the advisory clan which is helping to destroy the East Indians in Guyana? 

And which "clan" is that?  The Caribj "anti-clannish" clan?