DR Mona Webber, a marine ecologist and senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, is on a quest to introduce the use of alternative energy at the Port Royal Marine Laboratory and Biodiversity Centre.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer during UWI Research Days 2015, Webber said that apart from acquiring cheaper energy, her motive is to operate an environmentally friendly lab.

“[I’m doing this] because of what it does to the environment, because when you burn oil or coal, anything to get power, you introduce carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and it is going to cause global warming,” she said.

Webber said she has previously been selling the project as ‘costsaving’ but said she has since expanded her approach and is now selling it as environmental conservation.

She told the newspaper that she has drafted several proposals to engage overseas foundations for assistance on the project, which is estimated at $7 million.

With the constant use of electricity and water on the premises, the lab generates close to $2 million in utility bills per year. “This is an indication of our utilities: $1.5 million to $1.7 million full utilities per year for one side, and then when we added the biodiversity centre we were looking at $1.9 million,” Webber said.

The biodiversity centre was set up in 2012 to help offset the overhead costs of the lab. Marine biology students at UWI use the lab to conduct research every Monday in the year, but the facility also attracts students from various schools across the island. Webber pointed out that some schools have no problem paying for their visits.

However, she said, there are schools from inner-city communities that cannot afford to do so but are still accommodated. “There is a group that is sponsored by Jamaica Environment Trust and they will always come on a Saturday,” she said, giving an example.