Caribbean Island of Bonaire Aims for 100% Renewable Power by 2015
Wind turbines in Bonaire that are the main source of the island's electricity. (image: Maiapilo via flickr.com)
Currently, the promise of many renewable energy sources is limited by the fact that they simply can’t generate enough energy to satisfy an entire city, county, state, or country.
It’s fitting then that the first nation to rely exclusively on renewable energy would be a 113-square-mile island in the Caribbean Sea. On Monday, istockalalyst.com reported that the former Dutch colony of Bonaire, an island located off the coast of Venezuela, has set a goal to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2015.
Bonaire’s only power plant burned down in 2004, and the island’s government responded by creating a plan to rebuild its generation infrastructure in exceedingly green fashion. According to istockanalyst, the island, with peak electricity demand of about 11 megawatts (MW) decided to construct
a hybrid wind-diesel power plant, which will comprise an 11MW wind farm supplemented by a 14MW diesel power plant, including a 3MW energy storage system.
To go fully renewable, the island hopes to use biodiesel derived from salt-water algae to power the diesel plant within five years. In addition to the environmental benefits of a wind-and-algae-biodiesel-powered society (zero emissions, zero pollution), the Energy Development in Island Nations website predicts that
power consumers on Bonaire can potentially look forward to a 10% to 20% reduction on their electricity bills; the rate reduction will take effect the very first day the project goes online.
Bonaire is about 50 miles from the coast of Venezuela, and attracts tourists interested in scuba diving, snorkeling, and biking. (image: wikipedia.org)
Boinaire’s transition to clean energy began in 2006, the wind turbines and wind/diesel power plant have been built. The next five years will be spent perfecting algae production and biodiesel refining processes to manufacture fuel.
No pollution, no greenhouse gas emissions, no dependence on imported oil—if all goes as planned, Bonaire will be living the ultimate green energy dream in just five years’ time. Though the applying of Bonaire’s plan to other parts of the world simply won’t work for a number of reasons, the tiny nation’s example can at least provide some inspiration by showing that fully renewable, earth-friendly energy consumption is an attainable goal.
