POLÍTICA NUCLEAR
bagasse from the manufacture of sugar probably about
11'%.
Sorne
88% of Jamaica's energy consumption is, therefore, being met by
imported petroleum fuel.
There is sorne additional hydro-electricity potential, but this is
assessed at only about
152
megawatts. The largest single scheme
would provide about 90 megawatts and the feasibility study, which
is projected to cost over
$
200 million (us) , will be undertaken
shortly.
Another possible indigeneous energy source is peat from the costal
wetland areas of Western Jamaica. It is estimated that about 11
miUion tons of grass and sedge peat (dried to 35,%) might be avai·
lable. This would be sufficient to power a 40 megawatt power
station for 30 years.
These seem
tú
be the only possibilities and there is therefore now
no alternative to imported fuel oil. None of the alternative energy
sources - Solar
Thermal, Photovoltaic, wind and ocean power -
has reached the stage of technological development for adaption as
main base load suppliers .and as expensive as oil is, today the price
of electricity generated from these sources would exceed that from
oil thermal plants.
The only alternatives to oi! at this stage are coal and nuclear
power. We need not consider coal at this conference.
THE NUCLEAR OP110N
The figures in Table 3 show that up to 1990 nuclear power in Ja.
maica would be at best, at least, a marginal prospect. The main
reasons are, of course, the relatively large sizes in which nuclear
power plants are packaged today and the cost of the planto
However, because of the very long lead time to develop an ade·
quate scientific and technical infrastructure to support nuclear pro–
jects, and because aspects of nuclear science are themselves valuable
aids in scientific research and development, we have decided to pay
as much attention as we are able to, to certain non· power aspects
of nuclear studies. This work will, of course, help provide the ex–
pertise
10
make rational decisions in later years on the desirability
of
going nuclear and ,also to smooth the path
if
an affirmative de–
cision is taken.
