Dear Editor,

Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s address on the integration of nuclear energy in the National Energy Policy on April 27 was unexpected but understandable, given the growing energy demands.

The globe is on the cusp of exhausting its limited fossil fuel supply, and to combat this incessant global energy crisis, Jamaica has inevitably turned to renewable sources of energy. The country is powered by petroleum-based combustion, which accounts for 80 per cent of its electricity, according to the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET). This leaves a notable carbon footprint that is proportionate to the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, which unequivocally leads to global warming.

Renewable sources, however, have paved the journey to a lower carbon footprint, notwithstanding producing a lower energy density, and it takes into account the preservation of the natural environment and its inhabitants.

Jamaica, fortunately, is situated in a tropical marine climate and possesses the luxury of the sun, wind, and water to its advantage. The presence of wind farms, acre-wide solar panel arrays, and hydroelectric plants, in my candid opinion, are not being utilised enough for us to consider nuclear power just yet.

The incorporation of this nuclear regime in Jamaica’s energy policy will solely depend on a detailed cost-benefit analysis in the implementation of nuclear power on the power grid. My observation, however, is that Jamaicans have not demonstrated confidence in nuclear energy, and thus, from their perspective, it appears provocative in nature. The citizens have outrightly rejected the idea, and this will make the nuclear dream more difficult to implement.

Conceptually, nuclear energy is produced when uranium fuel undergoes a breakdown or decay, and the decay releases tremendous amounts of energy in the form of heat. The heat subsequently boils water into steam, which activates a steam turbine, and thus, electrical power is generated.

Nuclear power will come with the installation of unique infrastructure, sourcing of fuel outside the Caribbean, disposal of the radioactive by-product which lasts for centuries, and safety and environmental protocols in place to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Additionally, this will require a huge slice of the national budget per annum, and given that Jamaica’s current debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is a dismal 103 per cent, the country should be more focused on further use and improvement of the solar and water portfolio of the National Energy Policy.

While I commend the current Government for looking for other methods of energy production to diversify the energy mix, the prime minister should reconsider his plans to make Jamaica nuclear-driven by 2030. Jamaica Observer senior reporter Josimar Scott, in his 2023 article titled ‘Jamaica to go nuclear’, highlighted the Jamaican Government’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to augment the use of hydroelectric power across the island. Frankly, this is a prudent move and should be the main focus before talks of nuclear power comes into the picture.

Nuclear power, although clean and efficient in the long term, is frankly not economically feasible at the moment for a developing country such as Jamaica, though possible in the next 20-30 years.

Dujean Edwards

dujeanedwards@gmail.com