According to the Managing Director of Utilities Aruba NV, Anthony Rojer, now is the time to combat emissions, save the planet and give us a cleaner environment. All that in honor of the recent press conference starring our minister of Labor, Integration and Energy, who had a series of interesting announcements to make.
Apparently, they measured Aruba’s carbon emissions, and reached the conclusion that 60% of it is caused by our energy production and usage, 27% derives from transport, and 13% is caused by waste at the dump.
In other words, each of us emits 9.3 metric ton, I am not sure if per day or per year, but it sounds a lot, ranking us high, even when compared to industrial countries.
In an effort to change that, another study, a Masterplan, revealed that the island could carry a mix of wind, and solar installations, also employ the use of batteries, and with the cocktail of the new renewable energy cut emissions by MORE THAN A HALF, and deliver consumer-tariffs reduction.
I did see perhaps two weeks ago, a publication, advertising an EOI, “An Expression of Interest,” inviting entities and experts from around the globe to bid, for the creation of a wind park, in Rincon, below the jail, not far from the already existing set of wind mills. The invitation to bid offered a PPA, a Power Purchase Agreement, meaning they build the farm, they finance it, they sell us the power at an agreed rate. Then after 20 years they gift the farm to Aruba?
Some of my friends asked if the EOI was real, or was a friendly investor already lined up.
The new Wind Farm must be situated at least 850 meters away from the closest residence and I saw one protesting citizen, who made headlines because he, does not want them.
And the reason our parks must be land-based, is that we do not trust off-shore technologies, and the suitable area would be too close to Venezuela.
Depending on demand, Elmar is planning 2-4 more solar parks in the next years and will encourage the installation of solar panels on offices, and parking lots.
The minister went on to declare that by 2025, the island will shrink its dependence on HFO from 85% to 65% then further down to 50%, by 2030.
The press conference greatly focused on central generation. They should also focus on the demand side management. Including decentral storage and generation. By centrally generating carbon-based energy, the system suffers energy losses along the way, transporting from WEB to our electric switches.
When households/businesses are able to generate, store and use their own energy, the utilization is much smarter, aware of consumption, and more responsible.
(This is a good place to mention that my friend from Paradera has been waiting since 2018 to be connected to the grid to generate her own electricity, via a roof loaded with panels. Though Elmar claims they have been allowing connectivity since 2012.)
While the press conference was positive, the power companies, their owners, those with capital to invest in lucrative schemes — guaranteed by us all — still maintain the centralized strategy, guaranteeing high returns. The focus did not change.
Remember, they committed us for the next 20 years to a so-call conversion to LNG, a very pricy commodity.
We would also benefit greatly from an incentive to switch to electric vehicles. We drive little on the island, 30-40 km a day, with daily recharging at home, that should be no problem, via a small battery pack?!
Rojer reiterated what the minister promised: There will be an open and transparent process for everyone who is interested in participating.
