Let's Build Gonave, Haiti!

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 t...

I have mentioned all three names in many of the blogs that are on this site.  Let's start with La Gonave.  This is home base for Let's Build La Gonave, Haiti, it is the focus area of Hurko Co..  It is the island that is forgotten, well almost!  Then you have Vetiver Grass. Did you know that Haiti is the number one producer of Vetiver Grass?  It produces 50% of the worlds vetiver, and it is even used to make perfume.  Not only is the grass great for water retention, reducing soil erosion, but it makes good fodder for livestock, and it can be a replacement for charcoal.  That's right, in Haiti's backyard is a product that could easily substitute trees and not only does it grow back every year, it is cleaner to burn than charcoal.  It can be made into pellets, or left in it's original form.  Either way the product can be used to power a Biomass power plant. So what does Let's Build La Gonave, Haiti have to do with this.  Well we feel t...

Creating a power grid on Gonave is key for any sort of development.  Large wind turbines often produce enough energy to power 300 homes.  Given their large size, they still don't live up to their full potential which would power much more than the average 300 US homes. This turbine is a 2 MW turbine which would provide enough power for 300 average US homes.  The cost per unit including installation is $3-4 million.  Creating power on Gonave is very important and is needed to move the economy forward.  A campaign to raise funds to build a 10 MW wind power facility would be the best way to initially start.  Go Gonave! --------------------- Kreye yon pouvwa gri sou Gonave se kle pou nenpòt ki sòt de devlopman. Gwo van turbin souvan pwodwi ase enèji sou pouvwa a 300 kay la. Bay gwo gwosè yo, yo toujou pa viv jiska tout potansyèl yo ki ta pouvwa pi plis pase mwayèn 300 US kay yo .   Turbine Sa a se yon ...

Last year I wrote about ways to power the island, and some of it focused on Coal, Solar, or Wind power plants.  All of these types of plants have their advantages, and disadvantages, which I went over briefly. What is a simple and cheaper way?  Diesel Powered Generators.  Many third world nations use these systems as their only source of power, Nigeria comes to mind.  Using these systems work well when money and time are a major problem.  These plants run on diesel or gas, and can be expandable.  I am posting three videos about such systems.  I think this is something that Gonave and maybe even Haiti should consider to solve power issues.  This is a 13.2 MW power plant in Saudi Arabia that uses 4 engines. This is an animation of how a plant can be customized for the environment, and how the system can be expanded over time.  It talks about the type of engines possible. The last video is also an animation from a dif...

Employment goals on Gonave I think that to get the economy of Gonave stated there needs to be a few crucial items.  I have mentioned them before and that is a source of power, and getting the proper water sanitation that will allow for large scale businesses. Once that is accomplished I think that industry can be lured to the island using specific programs that work in other island areas.  Given the close location to the US, Gonave stands a strong chance of leading the Caribbean in economic growth.  These industries should be built and lured in phases. Phase 1 Bring in a 75 to 100 person call center. Create a farm program where you create over 50 different farms from fish farms to vegetable farms, along with cattle, chicken, and hog farms.  Employment of 100 jobs minimum. Bring in a textile company with a minimum of 250 jobs. Build a tourist resort and hotel which would bring about 150 to 200 jobs. Create a cannery which will have a minimum of 50 jobs. ...