Hello, this is my first post on Bonaire Talk. I have stumbled across this board whilst preparing my 8th trip to Bonaire. I am hoping that members of this board could help me understand the following:

I have always been mystified as to why one doesn't see wind mills or solar panels on Bonaire. Sun and wind seem to be fairly abundant.

I wonder this too...every time I get my WEB bill..

Bubi

Welcome to Bonaire Talk

There was talk of Web putting a Wind generator. I understand that Web restricts customers to Web or solar energy not both.

It's my understanding (please, someone local correct me if I'm wrong) that WEB, the power supplier, will not allow people to be connected to their power supply if they also have an independent source, i.e., from a windmill or solar panels. Which means WEB can't be used as a back-up source. This seems odd to me because where I live the electric company allows it, and will actually buy any extra power you generate. I guess WEB is a monopoly that can do what it pleases, but why they haven't made use of Bonaire's sun and wind for alternative energy themselves is a mystery to me.

In the December 8-22 edition of the Bonaire Reporter, plans to build a wind farm near Boca Onima and other methods of generating electricity were announced.

To read this and other Bonaire news, including archived articles, go to: http://bonairenews.com/ and subscribe. Worth every penny of the $35.00 subscription fee.

The technology on the windmills have vastly improved making it much more financially sound to go this route. As Tom indicates above, the Bonaire Reporter recently ran an article indicating this was in the works. Unfortunately where the wind is, the salt air carried by the wind is extremely corrosive. As someone who has lived on an unsheltered side of an island I can certainly attest to same.

It also looks to me (as an outsider) that local politics have also played a significant role in dampening/eliminating competition. A monopoly is NEVER any good for the consumer.

I think everyone agrees that with all the construction ongoing & in the planning stages, that Bonaire's power requirements will be dramatically increasing in the future. The supply of oil is becoming more & more tenuous.

Has WEB, or anyone else, published a cost/benefit study of solar and wind power installations?