PHILIPSBURG:--- The Democratic Party gave an explanation of its policy regarding renewable energy as part of its DP Party Platform for the 2014 Parliamentary Elections. The DP Party platform is the party's vision for moving St. Maarten forward and includes items focused on Governance, Education, Immigration, Energy and the Environment.
As part of its Platform on Renewable and Alternative Energy the DP stated that it endorses the National Energy Policy of St. Maarten of March 2014 and emphasized that the goals of the policy are only attainable if all stakeholders are on board, including: government, GEBE, and the society at large. The DP also stressed that the necessary legislative framework should also be in place to ensure the successful execution of the policy.
The Democratic Party also stated that, based on the Energy Policy, it hopes to see the island have 35% of its energy come from renewable sources by 2016, 80% renewable by 2020 and 100% HF oil free by 2025.
The Democratic Party also stressed that in order to achieve this, educational awareness is paramount and should form part of the policy's implementation plan. This plan also offers some potential for new business opportunities, and that is part of the reason why the DP supports this policy and will commit to its execution.
"If we look at the issues taken up in the policy plan we see a complete and holistic effort with regards to what this entails for the people of St. Maarten in terms of energy consumption. A lot of worthwhile efforts and initiatives have been taken by Government, the Private Sector and NGO's, however if we are not working on the basis of a plan or vision or an approach many of these initiatives and efforts seem lost and ad hoc. The intention of the plan is to move away from the use of certain types of fossil fuels for energy production, to introduce a countrywide energy saving program, to peruse improved efficiency at the NV GEBE power station, and to seek for renewable energy options for the island. The plan also looks at the impact of introducing smart grid concepts for improved electricity supply chain and Saba perhaps providing geothermal power to the island and the implementation of the Waste to Energy Plant. A component of the plan will be to also decrease the Environmental Impact of energy use and to reduce the Carbon footprint of the island. These are just some the plans and goals and I think it is important for the people of St. Maarten to understand the long-term plan of action as part of this plan, commented DP Leader and Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams.
DP Press Release