Renewable Energy in the French West Indies

[Vogon_Glory]

I recently returned from a trip to the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. I chose those islands in part because they fit my definition of a tropical island—sand, palm trees, volcano, scuba diving possibilities—and because it’s a way of expressing my disapproval of the Radical Right and their foolish boycott-the-French campaign last year..

Despite the fun and frolic, I couldn’t help but notice the efforts made on Guadeloupe to increase the use of renewable energy sources. Apparently someone isn’t following the gospel according to the Cheney commission’s recommendations for energy policy.

One of the power generating stations I saw on Guadeloupe was a geothermal plant. While built with politics and as a sop to Euro Greens in mind, someone with the French electricity agency was also making some sensible decisions. A geothermal plant not only takes advantage of the more-than-ample heat sources involved with Basse Terre’s tectonic activities, but also means that French funds won’t be spent importing petroleum products from elsewhere to run the local power grid.

Just driving on the highway past the French equivalents of Builder’s Square and Lowe’s was another eye-opener. Those were selling solar hot water heaters. While their application to individual dwellings and small businesses is undoubtedly subsidized, local energy users are lessening their dependence on imported energy sources and costly watts or cubic meters from a centralized source.

During the last couple of evenings on Guadeloupe, I flicked on the television to local programming. There was a news article on a wind turbine’s column falling down. While that turbine may have taken a tumble, I couldn’t help but remember that there are dozens more worldwide that are still very much upright and functional.

The French West Indies’ efforts to use more renewable energy sources could have some interesting implications for US energy vendors and energy usage patterns elsewhere. The French have certainly had engineering ties with Cuba even before Castro’s takeover. The EU's foreign aid programs far outstrip their US equivalents. If the French can develop lower-cost solar water heaters, they could sell them elsewhere in the Caribbean as well as in Central and South America. The same could be said with the engineering expertise and manufacturing experience gained with the geothermal plant, since much of the Andes are part and parcel of the volcanic belt associated with the Ring of Fire.

[el_gato]

1. so did you like these Islands

maybe I should go, I love the beach.
Was it crowded or anything like that.
How were the people? friendly?

Islands seem to be particularly good places for renewables usage since
their remote locations have excluded them from development.

[Vogon_Glory]

4. French Antilles Very Nice, BUT

I did indeed enjoy my trip to Guadeloupe and Martinique, but other DUers ought to be aware of some things.

First, the dollar has dropped something considerable against the Euro, so both Guadeloupe and Martinique aren't going to be the cheapest places you can vacation in the Caribbean. Less expensive than St. Barts and Anguilla, but not cheap.

Second, both islands (Although Guadeloupe is actually a small archipelago of islands) are primarily French-speaking. Further, since both of these islands haven't had to cater to English-speaking tourists quite as thoroughly as other Caribbean islands, don't expect too many people to speak English.

Yes, both Guadeloupe and Martinique do have wild places. Guadeloupe actually has a nice French national park on Basse Terre, the western half of Guadeloupe's big island. But most of the islands do have the look of modern, occasionally built-up places. You can see nice vistas, fields of sugar cane, and banana plantations. But if you were expecting something out of a historic Caribbean post card from eighty years ago, you're likely to be a bit disappointed.

Due to French subsidies, I found both Martinique and Guadeloupe to be very much offshore bits of France in the Caribbean instead of the impoverished places seen in very old cards and photographs.

[jmcgowanjm]

2. Think globally, act locally

Local energy creation and transmission w/
redundancy built thru out. Minimum impactw/
failure of any part.

Just what you described VogonGlory.

[hatrack]

3. Reminds me of a trip to Greece

Pretty much wherever we went, particularly in Athens and in the islands, there were rooftops with solar water heating systems. I'd say nine out of ten in Athens, and nearly every single building in the Cyclades.

[SoCalDem]

5. Moorea,Tahiti is very environmentally conscious as well

Everything that is not found there (which is a lot)must be shipped in from New Zealand, so there are few cars, and the ones that are there are very small and energy efficient..

Mass transportation is very available and cheap.. Except for the tourist hotels, a/c is not very widely in use..


Years ago we sepnt 2 weeks in Jamaica, and even back then they were into water conservation in a big way.. Every slope had ridged concrete areas that led into holding ponds.. that's what they used for irrigation..

Homes had collecting cisterns for "roof" water.. No one wasted it..Back then, the electricity could be counted on to "quit" at around 4 pm..everyone went home them, and later in the evening, it would come on for a few hours..

I am sure it's different now, but we were inpressed by the local people's awareness of their environment, and their desire to preserve what they had..