November 20, 2002

Chairman's Welcome Remarks at Renewable Energy Conference

Fellow Directors and Officers, Associate Members, Valued Sponsors and Representatives from the OAS, Honored guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this our First Renewable Energy Conference. Four months have already passed since my good friend Frank Crothers handed over the chairmanship of CARILEC to me. But I can’t help feeling that he should be the one giving this welcome address, for this conference has been a brain child of Frank. So Frank deserves the credit for a great idea, and I am certainly glad to have him continuing on as a director and to be able to tap into his advice from time to time. 

I also want to acknowledge Mr. Christopher Farrell who served as executive director of CARILEC for many years. Chris has continued to work in the electric industry and has been involved in several renewable energy projects in the region. We are very glad to have you here with us Chris. 

As we all know, the impact of energy use on the environment has become a major concern, and we as the providers of the most convenient form of energy, find ourselves in the crosshairs of this debate. But it is undeniable that electrical power and our ability to harness power from fossil fuels drive the development and prosperity we enjoy today. Without them, our standard of living, which is relatively high compared to 50 years ago, would not be possible. Indeed, civilization as we know it today could not be supported without the valuable service provided by the oil and electric industries. 

Yet, dire are the predictions of what will happen to us because of our over-dependence on fossil fuels. We are all too aware of the predictions, ranging from adverse impact to health and well being, to catastrophic climate changes. Of course, as many of us live on Islands or in low-lying areas, we are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.  

We also continue to hear that our fossil fuel resources are limited and will eventually be depleted. And as the supply of fossil fuels decline, the price will continue to skyrocket, leading to certain economic collapse.  

But as Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, a founding architect of OPEC said, “The oil age will come to an end, but not for the lack of oil just as the Stone Age came to an end, but not for the lack of stone.” Bjorn Lomborg of the Skeptical Environmentalist makes a good point when he postulated that men stopped using stone because bronze and iron were superior materials; likewise, we will stop using oil when other energy technologies provide superior benefits. Ultimately, I believe that the adoption of alternate energy technologies will be driven by economics. Whether it be that the price of oil, or the environmental cost of burning oil far outweighs the cost of implementing alternative technologies.

Wind and solar power have been dropping about 50% in price per decade over the last 30 years, while oil prices continue to fluctuate. Perhaps, it is only a matter of time before these renewables become competitive. But even when these technologies become economic, there are other challenges to overcome before they can be reliable sources for supplying power grids.  

Clearly, there is a lot to ponder. We in the Caribbean are not blessed with an over-abundance of resources. We need to make wise use of the little that we have. It is true that many of our economies are based on our natural beauty and pleasant environment. Environmentally benign technologies are therefore attractive to us. But are we prepared to pay more for these technologies? The economic prosperity and the health and well-being of the communities we serve will be affected by the decisions we make.  

CARILEC has been involved on the project steering committee charged with guiding the development and implementation of the UNDP/GEF Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Project. In addition, CARILEC has monitored the development of Renewables in member utilities over the years and so it is only natural that CARILEC should host a conference such as this one. 

We hope that this conference will provide some of the answers. But even if there are no answers, the program that have been put together for you will surely arm you with more knowledge to make wiser choices. 

Conferences such as this one is one way that CARILEC has provided valuable services to its members. CARILEC has grown to represent almost all of the electric utilities in the Caribbean (31 ), and its associate membership category which consists primarily of suppliers of goods and services to the electric utilities stands at 42 and continues to grow. This year, through the hard work of our team at the Secretariat, led by Greg the acting manager and Cheryl the member services coordinator, CARILEC hosted several well attended conferences including the CEO’s conference, the Finance and IT conference, the Engineers conference, the Safety and Security conference, and this Renewable Energy Conference, our last conference for this year.  

My congratulations and thanks to all the hard working people that have made these conferences the successful events that we all look forward to. 

I must also thank our sponsors, especially the Organization of American States, Chevron Texaco, and host Utility LUCELEC. Their generous sponsorship has helped to make this conference a reality.

I also take the opportunity to thank our good friends at WEB who have agreed to host the CEO’s conference next year. We are looking forward to visiting the lovely Island of Curacao and we hope to see many of you at that event. 

So, welcome again to this Renewable Energy conference. We hope that you enjoy a very educational two days, and I urge you to also find some time to explore and enjoy the lovely Island of St. Lucia.