www.nrdc.org has a Fortis protest letter they will send for you. Click on "stop the dam".

I don't agree that wind turbines are an "eyesore." Remember the old fashioned windmills that used to be seen next to the old farmhouses? It was just part of the farm scenery. I guess its a matter of personal taste.
As for cost, yes, wind and solar are expensive if everybody has to put in their own and if you have no other means of power. With enough use, economies of scale will develop and,like everything else, prices will come down (solar prices have already come down quite a bit over the last 5-10 years.)
However, as I indicated, there are many demonstration projects being funded, at least partially, by a NGO's and manufacturers. If you go to the www.bergey.com web site, you will read about them, one of them is in Xaclac, a village very close to Ambergris Caye. They use a combination of wind, solar and diesel.
Typically, many of the largest power consumers (hotels and resorts) are most able to afford sustainable energy.
The other thing that makes it affordable is net-metering, which eventually makes the solar/wind pay for itself. Unfortunately, the Belize monopoly law forbids this.
There are other alternatives, such as the use of biomass to make energy (another sustainable technology), to fossil fuels.
I guess my point is that there is no quick fix and no single solution but we sure don't have to destroy a beautiful rain forest and put the country into bankruptcy in order to have power.

the wind field close to Xcalak is a MASSIVE eyesore. It must cover acres of land.

I do not want the dam either. But what are the PRACTICAL alternatives?

Belize's electricity needs can be provided by importation of electricity from Mexico (for the northern part of the country) plus installation of modern diesel turbines.

Yes, resorts etc. can afford solar power (still MUCH more expensive than commercial electricity), but what about regular users?

If California, rich in sun and wind and dollars, can't afford to generate even 1/10th their electricity needs with solar and wind technology, how can anyone reasonably expect poor little Belize to afford these sources?

If we are going to stop Fortis and their hare-brained rain forest destroying dam scheme we need to point to reasonable alternatives. Solar and wind, as attractive as they look are simply NOT affordable or practical for Belize.

On a footnote....it would be interesting to see what an Iris or a Keith would do to a multi-billion dollar wind generation field......

After reading all this, sounds like the first thing to do is get the damned laws changed. but what's the likelyhood of that??? Maybe these lawsuits that are happpening will expose enough of the under the table crap that's going on to make a dent..... Politicians hate to get caught "with their pants down". (Take Bill Clinton for example... tee hee hee) Seriously. If Belize is fortunate enough to get some really high powered, financially backed, and saavy lawyers, it start the winds of change.... I'm being overly optimistic here I know, but I can't give up hope just yet....
For those of you interested, Marty was able to get my article on the message board. If you would like to read it, it's on the forum: Other parts of Belize. Look under: Belize Dam Approval Challenged in Court.
Debbie

[This message has been edited by Debbie (edited 03-04-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Debbie (edited 03-04-2002).]

The best we, as observers and outsiders, can hope is that there is a lot of good stuff going on behind closed doors and in the hearts and minds of GOB politicians and officials. Though that is sure not apparent from the looks of things.

I know one thing: they don't like us speculating and telling them what they can and can't do even though we might have a really good grasp of the obvious.

[This message has been edited by ckocian (edited 03-04-2002).]

Dear True:

The single most important step in getting affordable power to the people of Belize is to REPEAL THE MONOPOLY LAW and institute:
1. Competitive bidding for government-paid power and
2. Free competition to the private sector.

Let towns, villages, communities, businesses and individuals purchase power in any way they wish from anyone they wish to buy from.

As to what methods are best for power, I do not think any country can rely on just one thing. Environmental, financial and availability factors differ in different parts of the country and for different uses.
I think the way to go is a combination of:
1. What we have now (a national "grid" relying on purchased power from Mexico
2. Large diesels
3. Biomass power generation
4. Wind energy
5. Solar energy
6. and, when it becomes available, fuel cell technology.
7. Hydro electric (but no giant monopoly dams. Check out the Five Sisters Lodge in Cayo for a fantastic example of sustainable use of hydro electric power.

As far as California is concerned, I am in California. The "power crisis" DOES NOT EXIST there -- except as a "political crisis." It was manufactured by a few large corporations (including, by the way, Enron.

FYI: Solar and wind are being increasingly used, but one of the impeding factors has been the monopoly (yup, we have them too!) utilities (here in Norcal, its Pacific Gas and Electric). You have to be something of a "rebel" to get your net metering done.
But it is definitely doable from a technical standpoint.

As far as wind turbines are concerned and their cosmetic appearance, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. We have many hills with so called "wind farms" on them a few miles from me and I actually think they look kind of neat....

As far as hurricanes toppling them, that's a good point. The older ones used to go down in bad storms. The newer generation are quite sturdy, according to www.bergey.com they have withstood some pretty heavy storms but of course there is always the risk of damage.

There are down sides to everything. But everything will be appropriate to some users and the more a particular technology is used, the cheaper it will become IF THERE IS COMPETITION.

I think fuel cell technology has a lot of promise too, to be very affordable. Not yet available to individual consumers, but just beginning to go online for certain communities in Europe, the US is a bit behind here.

I have signed petitions, both the "stopfortis" letter, and the National Resources Defence Council letter. And I plan on sending e-mails to friends to do the same. This is truly outrageous. Canada owns the hyrdroelectric....how bizarre. It sounds like a complete monopoly. Oy....let's pray and work for the best.