Deon Kelly and Gary Wolf presents "Energy for Belize– Sustainable and Secure" at the Belize National Research Conference, 2019.

Secure, reliable, abundant energy resources are vital for developing nations in the 21st century, and with heightened understanding of the need for resilience, solar energy should be in Belize’s future. Renewable energy is already replacing fossil fuels worldwide, and solar is the fastest-growing means of generation. But in Belize, development of solar, wind and energy storage has barely begun. A study of past efforts and current policies relates sustainable energy to the needs of the nation generally, and specifically how broadening the energy mix can provide resilience to impacts from nature,…
4:45 p.m.—5:05 p.m.
James Stinson, Ph.D. and Filiberto Penados, Ph.D.
De-Colonizing Bio-Politics: Securing the Right to “Life” and Articulating Maya Futures in Southern Belize
This paper argues that contemporary struggles between indigenous peoples and states can be usefully interpreted as bio-political struggles over the meaning of development and the right to “life.” Michel Foucault (2003) developed his concepts of biopower/bio-politics to describe the historical transformation in eighteenth century Europe through which the role of the state shifted from a focus on securing borders (sovereignty) toward efforts to secure the life and vitality of the population (biopower). In the words of Foucault, the sovereign right “to take life or let live” came to be complemented by the right to “make live or let die” (Foucault 2003: 241). Studies of international development have widely applied this framework to analyze the dynamics of development projects around the world (e.g. Li 2007; Powell 2006). This paper highlights the cultural politics of biopower by examining Maya-State conflicts over the meaning and effects of “development” in southern Belize. A central tenant of the Maya Movement has been that conventional approaches to development have not worked to secure the well-being of Maya peoples, but have served to threaten and undermine their right to life. In response, Maya people have articulated an alternative bio-political vision that emphasizes Maya assets, collective wellbeing, an intercultural economy, self-determination and respectful relations between the state and indigenous leaders. Interpreting the vision of the Maya Movement as example of an “indigenous bio-politics” highlights the need to de-colonize not just development, but the academic terms and frameworks used to analyze development interventions and their effects such as hurricanes and drought. This paper provides an overview of the history of renewables development in Belize as well as the current state of and obstacles to deployment, and to meeting the rising demand further national development will bring. The benefits of solar energy are described with a focus on sustainability and security. Distributed generation, including small utility-scale solar farms and commercial self-consumption systems, lessens the burden on grid transmission and distribution, reducing risk to the power supply and easing recovery from disasters. Profiles for modeling include Belize’s new rural solar microgrids, where utility grid penetration is difficult or costly, as well as efforts to eliminate generators and reliance on diesel fuel, particularly from island communities. Resilience suggestions include urban microgrids for protection of power to hospitals, military and emergency response facilities, and using solar energy to augment existing hydro assets for pumped energy storage.

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