27020: Hermantin(news)Toward energy independence (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Miami Herald


Posted on Tue, Dec. 27, 2005
HISPANIOLA

Toward energy independence
BY JOHANNA MENDELSON-FORMAN
jmendelsonforman@att.net

On Hispaniola, Haiti is on the verge of state failure, while the Dominican 
Republic is threatened by an energy crisis that could doom recent years of 
economic growth and democratic development.
Fortunately, Dominican President Leonel Fernández, has taken the nation's 
crisis as a cause that must be addressed by developing an island policy for 
energy and security.

The Dominican Republic is at a crossroads. Energy insecurity threatens progress 
on many fronts. With more than 80 percent of electric power produced from oil, 
the use of bio-fuels as an alternative fuel would lessen the country's 
vulnerability to petroleum-market vagaries and geopolitics.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has given the Dominicans generous terms for 
oil through his PetroCaribe program, thus providing a quick fix to the current 
energy crisis. But the deal must be weighed against the medium to long-term 
energy security of Hispaniola. The reality is that the Dominican Republic needs 
both.

The country's agriculture sector and sugar producers, in particular, have been 
displaced by free-trade zones and services industries. Meanwhile, the 
accelerated, unplanned growth of tourism has resulted in over-exploitation and 
citizen insecurity.

Conversion to ethanol

A recent report supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development 
predicted that the country's current demand for power cannot be met. The report 
advocated conversion to ethanol or other biomass-energy products as a first 
step in making the transition from oil dependency.
Doing so could lay the foundation for greater cross-border collaboration with 
Haiti. Some bio-fuel crops, such as jatropha, could play a significant role in 
rebuilding degraded soils, thereby alleviating a significant environmental 
problem. Bio-diesel, derived from plants that thrive on Hispaniola, would also 
stimulate microenterprises.

The continued deterioration of political, economic and environmental conditions 
in Haiti strains the Dominican government. Continued cross-border migration, 
transshipment of illegal narcotics and the spread of HIV/AIDS increases the 
risk of social and economic instability. There would also be the benefits of 
energy self-sufficiency and poverty reduction. Bio-fuel is a bridge to peaceful 
relations between the two nations.

Bioenergy is not new to the Dominican Republic. Its large sugar plantations 
have already attracted investors' attention. But no large-scale conversion of 
sugarcane to ethanol has yet occurred, in part because the U.S. government 
still provides growers with export subsidies. This has delayed policy 
considerations and limited bio-fuel production to small projects rather than a 
major conversion initiative. This policy has also created an open door to 
Chávez's energy machinations in the energy-poor Caribbean.

There is a new consensus at the highest political level in Santo Domingo that 
alternative energy is a priority. Recent oil-price increases have strengthened 
Fernández's hand to address the energy crisis. A national commission created in 
2001 is now coordinating the government's response.

On Nov. 8, Fernández signed an agreement with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe 
in which Colombia will provide energy assistance and transfer technology for 
ethanol production. Brazilian investors, pioneers in ethanol production from 
sugarcane, are knocking at the doors of government agencies, affirming the 
bio-fuel potential for the Dominican Republic.

Saving Hispaniola is possible, and Fernández has taken the first steps. 
Progress over the next year must include:
• Developing energy alternatives, from photovoltaic to wind energy.
• Encouraging small-scale projects that provide immediate energy-cost relief to 
the rural areas.
• Advocating the conversion of all sugar to ethanol.
• Launching immediately a program to use bio-fuels to generate electricity in 
its national power system.
• Creating a binational commission after the Haitian elections that uses the 
energy crisis as a means to rebuild trust.

The Caribbean must also become a place where bio-fuels flourish. Chávez's 
PetroCaribe should not replace what promises to offer the greatest opportunity 
to make energy security a reality in the Caribbean.
Johanna Mendelson-Forman is senior program officer for Peace, Security and 
Human Rights at the UN Foundation, which was created in 1998 to administer Ted 
Turner's $1 billion gift to the United Nations.