OVERVIEW OF ENERGY STRATEGIES FOR JAMAICA

This study selectively assesses alternative energy techniques and places Jamaica"s various energy options in perspective according to anticipated levels of energy demand. The major energy options considered include use of coal and peat in industry and electric generation; promotion of energy conservation in industry, transportation, and utilities; hydropower; solar power; and biomass generation. Each option is evaluated in terms of its commercial availability, capital and production costs, oil savings, and foreign exchange impact. Although the demand for oil is expected to rise 60% in the next 10 years, the report predicts that a strategy combining various alternative energy sources could reduce oil as a fraction of Jamaica"s total energy consumption from the present level of 97% to 64% by 1990. In the short run -- the next five years, the most effective measures to reduce oil imports include implementation of a slow-speed diesel generator in public utilities; conservation in the industrial and transportation sec- tors; use of coal in major electric power industries; more efficient use of bagasse in the sugar industry; domestic and commercial use of solar water heaters; and medium-scale hydropower. Because few options exist for direct fuel use in the household and transport sectors, increased energy efficiency, liquid fuels from biomass, and household fuels such as charcoal should receive added attention. In the intermediate term, ocean thermal energy conversion systems, large-scale hydropower, use of urban waste for power generation, and use of wood or charcoal could be viable. Depending on technical performance, environmental implications, and social acceptability, solar ponds, high temperature solar collectors, woodbased electricity generation, and liquid fuels derived from sugar, tropical grasses, or fast-growing trees could prove important over the long run -- up to the year 2000. Option work sheets based on varying assumptions in each energy sector are appended.