Power plants
While La Gonave doesn't have any power plants, the discussion of many is how to provide an island of over 100,000 people with adequate power. Some suggest renewable energy, others say build fossil fuel plants.
Renewable energy seems like a good choice due to the fuel source being free or virtually free. Things like wind and solar rely on what La Gonave has plenty of. Biofuel and Biomass plants will allow for plants that are grown to supply the power. The big problem with renewable energy is that they don't harness all of the energy they product. So in other words, solar and wind tend to not supply the full net of power. You also face problems with mother nature. The wind may not be at constant speed needed to make wind power viable. There could be days or weeks where extreme cloud cover affects the effectiveness of solar. While there are benefits of free or near free fuel, renewable energy isn't always dependable. They, at this point, complement existing fossil fuel power plants. Also renewable energy needs are large amount of land. Solar farms are very large and don't supply nearly what a coal plant would provide on the same amount of land.
Fossil fuel plants can be expensive to build and maintain, but you get true reliable power. While La Gonave could easily build a 130 - 200 MW power plant that would power every home on the island and then some, power plants are very expensive. A coal power plant that is 200 MW could be around $300 to $400 million bucks, and that is on the low end. Then you have to have the ability to store the fuel and get the fuel to the plant.
Ideally fossil fuel plants like a coal plant makes the most sense over the long run. Nearby Dominican Republic is planning two such plants. Now Haiti on the other had should take advantage of hydro-electric production. Better management, anti-corruption, and modernizing the plant will be needed. The power plant will not power all of Haiti, but will be a major start at improving power to at least Port-au-Prince.
As far as La Gonave goes, it will take a series of different types of technology in a "piece meal" approach to power the island. Some biomass, some biofuel, a few solar farms, a couple large windmills, small coal plants, diesel generators, etc. All of these are needed to start addressing La Gonave's power crisis. I even think that small communities should be targeted first to perfect collecting money and setting up the utility.
Go Gonave!
Renewable energy seems like a good choice due to the fuel source being free or virtually free. Things like wind and solar rely on what La Gonave has plenty of. Biofuel and Biomass plants will allow for plants that are grown to supply the power. The big problem with renewable energy is that they don't harness all of the energy they product. So in other words, solar and wind tend to not supply the full net of power. You also face problems with mother nature. The wind may not be at constant speed needed to make wind power viable. There could be days or weeks where extreme cloud cover affects the effectiveness of solar. While there are benefits of free or near free fuel, renewable energy isn't always dependable. They, at this point, complement existing fossil fuel power plants. Also renewable energy needs are large amount of land. Solar farms are very large and don't supply nearly what a coal plant would provide on the same amount of land.
Fossil fuel plants can be expensive to build and maintain, but you get true reliable power. While La Gonave could easily build a 130 - 200 MW power plant that would power every home on the island and then some, power plants are very expensive. A coal power plant that is 200 MW could be around $300 to $400 million bucks, and that is on the low end. Then you have to have the ability to store the fuel and get the fuel to the plant.
Ideally fossil fuel plants like a coal plant makes the most sense over the long run. Nearby Dominican Republic is planning two such plants. Now Haiti on the other had should take advantage of hydro-electric production. Better management, anti-corruption, and modernizing the plant will be needed. The power plant will not power all of Haiti, but will be a major start at improving power to at least Port-au-Prince.
As far as La Gonave goes, it will take a series of different types of technology in a "piece meal" approach to power the island. Some biomass, some biofuel, a few solar farms, a couple large windmills, small coal plants, diesel generators, etc. All of these are needed to start addressing La Gonave's power crisis. I even think that small communities should be targeted first to perfect collecting money and setting up the utility.
Go Gonave!
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