Robertson rejects coal
Published:Friday | October 8, 2010 | 12:00 AM
THE CALL for coal to be considered as Jamaica's main energy source has been rebuffed by energy minister James Robertson. He has rebuffed suggestions that it be considered as Jamaica's main energy source, saying the fossil was unsustainable, costly and dangerous.
Robertson, in a jab at South East St Ann Member of Parliament Lisa Hanna, said she sounded like "a coal lobbyist" because of her persistent calls for it to be considered to power a manufacturing revolution in the country.
"Cement and coal in the region where you are possibly thinking of, I can't see it passing any environmental test or standards," he said on Tuesday, as debate on the new energy policy got under way in Parliament.
Mitigating against the environmental cost of coal, at this time, is "not possible", he told lawmakers.
"All the checks we have made, this country would not find financing for a coal project based on the criteria that would be put to the test," the minister said.
Robertson favours liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is to be introduced into the energy mix under a private sector-led project.
"The LNG option offers significant benefits to the country. It is important, for example, to point out that at the current differential between crude oil and natural gas prices Jamaica would save at least US$300 million per annum on energy import costs, even after taking into account the cost of the infrastructure necessary to handle LNG," Robertson said.
"In this regard, the US$300 million per annum that we could now be saving if we had LNG, excludes the loss of earnings by the plants in the bauxite and alumina sector that had to cease or reduce operations owing to their inability to compete with plants elsewhere, due primarily to their use of oil as the main source of energy," he added.