Scientists worldwide agree that the way we burn fossil fuels is the root cause of global warming. Environmentally harmful carbon emissions which come from those fossil fuels can be significantly reduced if the world’s citizens and their Government leaders made a bigger commitment to renewable energy. In the third part of our global warming series, Senior Reporter Glenn Jones examines Bermuda’s renewable energy options for today and tomorrow.The Bermuda Electric Light Company (Belco) is an old school power company with an old school power plant — complete with smoke stacks and plenty of environmentally unfriendly carbon emissions.

But this old dog utility company is chasing some new tricks. Belco, a 100-year-old behemoth, has shown an undeniable openness to renewable energy resources for its Bermudian customers.

“It will be part of the overall energy mix,” said Belco executive Linda Smith.

She and other company brass have realised that energy needs are growing rapidly in Bermuda, and to keep up, Belco must find a way to supplement its traditional Pembroke power plant.

Ms. Smith predicts the country’s electricity demand will grow one-and-a-half percent every year, so by 2010, Belco must have another 40 million watts of power (megawatt) to go with the 165 megawatts it already has on standby.

And while Belco hopes to build two small diesel plants at either end of the Island to help with rising demand, it also hopes to be using offshore ocean currents to generate renewable energy.

Ms. Smith said: “We will have to develop traditional plants, but what we want to be able to do is supplement that with renewable where and when we can.

“Over a period of time we can reduce the Island’s reliance on fossil fuel generation, but that’s not going to happen overnight.”

If all goes well the ocean current operation should be up and running by the end of 2007, supplying as much as 10 megawatts of power — up to 20 megawatts by 2010.

Belco has already signed a contract with a company called Current to Current Bermuda Limited, which is a subsidiary of a Massachusetts based operation. Ms. Smith said: “It’s a brand new technology in terms of using ocean current to produce large capacity. It will be a continuous generation source for us.”

No one can say for certain that it’s going to work, but Belco executives are sure it will work far better than a wind farm which is always dependent on the weather.

Either way it takes the utility company one small step away from its typical power generation techniques which send carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Ocean current power will be carbon free. While that plan takes shape, Ms. Smith says the company is also exploring what it calls small scale renewables — things like domestic solar systems and wind turbines.

“The utility can employ some renewables, but there are opportunities for individuals to take advantage of some of the natural resources to produce some of their own electricity,” she said.

Belco has conducted market research to determine what customers know about small scale renewable energy and to gauge their willingness to try it. General knowledge of, and interest in, renewable energy has grown over the 15 years Belco has done the research, but Bermudians are not exactly lining up to retrofit their homes with renewable energy generation.

Ms. Smith suggested it might help if Government was willing to add environmental efficiency into the planning process for new construction.

She said it could be as simple as providing incentives for energy efficient appliances or as elaborate as changing building codes to require solar heating for some projects.

At present Bermuda’s planning process provides no renewable energy incentives for new construction. However, the Department of Planning offers a free guide to educate people who are interested in going solar.

The guide is careful to outline specific rules for mounting solar panels on a roof to encourage “use of solar energy in a manner that is in harmony with Bermuda’s image”.

Even if a lot of people made the switch, according to Peter and Margaret Foster, the true benefit isn’t felt until Belco can accept excess renewable energy from people’s homes and then redistribute it through the power grid.

Mr. Foster said: “While your at work during the day and there’s no power being consumed at the house, you’re actually supplying the grid.

“The big demand in the summer typically is in the middle of the day when the sun is the strongest, when you have the maximum air conditioning load. So the homes are helping offset that load.”

It would require a large expense for Belco to adjust their grid system in this way.

When asked about it Ms Smith said: “At the moment we are not in a position to take excess power to the grid, with the exception of Tynes Bay.

“However, this is one of the areas under study, as there are considerations that need to be given to safety and stability of supply in reverse.”

Ideally, Belco will find a way to merge their own large scale renewable operations with a host of small scale renewables dotted throughout the Island at people’s homes.

Ms. Smith said: “It’s just a matter of focusing attention on what the opportunities are.

“We’ll always rely on fossil fuel for the foreseeable future, however, we can do things to try to reduce our dependency over a period of time.

“And that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

* See tomorrow’s Royal Gazette for a tale from the Arctic.