Greenrock “Strongly Supports” Energy Plan
Greenrock says that it “strongly supports” the Bermuda Better Energy Plan [BBEP] submission to the Regulatory Authority’s public consultation on energy generation for Bermuda.
A spokesperson said, “Greenrock strongly supports the Bermuda Better Energy Plan submission to the Regulatory Authority’s public consultation on energy generation for Bermuda. It is a progressive, sustainable and commercially viable plan that would be the best outcome, both socially and economically, for Bermuda and our global community. By contrast, we disagree with BELCO’s stated plan for energy generation over the next 20 years. However, even though we disagree with their plan, we acknowledge the importance of BELCO and we recognize just how central they are to energy generation and distribution in Bermuda.
“For the foreseeable future BELCO will have more impact on our energy supply than any other organisation, and for that reason we are genuinely concerned about the rationale behind their plan. The proposed development of a new LNG plant will keep us heavily reliant on foreign fossil fuels which exposes us to high, volatile rates for consumers and relatively insignificant improvements to our national figures for carbon emissions.
“Our heavy reliance on offshore fuel will also mean that much-needed money, which could otherwise be reinvested in our local economy, will continue to leave Bermuda. In the absence of further clarity from BELCO it appears that social and environmental impact has had little bearing on their decision making. Small island states such as Bermuda tend to be most impacted by the volatility of overseas fuel prices and fracking, the process used to source LNG, is causing grave concerns globally regarding its impact on air quality, water quality and earthquakes.
“For these reasons the environmental footprint of any proposed technologies must consider the entire lifecycle of the product, the safety of those technologies and affordability for the consumer.
“The world is currently in the midst of an energy revolution, and BELCO’s current proposal does very little to ensure that we keep pace with renewable energy targets being set by the world’s largest nations or even similar small island states. We, like many other nations have tended to work in silos. However, to ensure that we all benefit, we support a process that facilitates collaboration between all stakeholders in the local energy sector, the financial sector and the community to develop a plan to represents our collective strengths.
“Everyone involved with Greenrock and the Bermuda Better Energy Plan is open to this type of collaboration and we are hosting meetings on a daily basis to build consensus and ensure that the general populace is informed of both our intention and our plan. Thus far we have met with several stakeholders in our local energy industry and are doing all that we can to ensure that the best outcome for our country is achieved.
“Next Monday, November 19th at 6pm we will be hosting another Public Meeting about the Bermuda Better Energy Plan at BUEI. We encourage everyone who missed our initial Public Meeting to attend this meeting as we only have until November 30th to make our voices heard. Should anyone be interested in assisting Greenrock with the BBEP we welcome your involvement. For more information visit the BBEP website.”
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Category: All, Environment
