Bermuda’s unique position in the race to use renewable energy is to be explored next week in lectures by scientist and educator David Chapman.

Dr Chapman’s public forum on Monday will launch Science Week at the Bermuda College, with a presentation entitled “Unexpected yet Understandable: Development as a Barrier to Renewable Energy in Bermuda”.

For Dr Chapman, who has studied the Island’s issues with renewable energy over six years at the Royal Holloway, University of London, Bermuda’s conundrum can be summed up in the choice of “comfort over cost”.

Despite our complaints over high electricity bills, he said, “because of our developed state, we are able to pay for them anyway”.

Rather than explaining the technical side of solar or wind power, Dr Chapman plans to explore renewable energy by “asking questions and seeking answers to questions that have not been highlighted before”.

Much of the discussion over Bermuda’s pressing need for alternatives to fossil fuel has not addressed the “common sense approach — use less electricity”, he said.

“The clotheslines that you always used to see — that’s a major thing that could reduce electricity use,” Dr Chapman added. “A lot of my research has shown that electrical efficiency and electrical consumption is more important than investing in new methods. In terms of sustainable development, putting up new devices might not necessarily be the way to go for Bermuda and Bermudians.”

As a Bermudian with a scientific accomplishment of local relevance, having just finished a doctorate on the Island and renewable energy, Dr Chapman has had the privilege of completing ground level research in a relatively unexplored field.

“There’s a lot of technical information available because there is a lot of money to be made — we have companies in this field, but their objective is not necessarily to figure out what’s best for Bermuda, but to figure out how to make as much money as possible.”

In past public lectures, Dr Chapman has hypothesised that Bermuda’s best option for exploiting the natural energy available might be a combination of wind and solar power.

“What I found doing this research is that Bermuda is a totally different animal to other small island states when it comes to potentially integrating renewable energy,” he said.

His research explores the social and economic factors that affect how renewable energy can be harnessed in Bermuda, and who stands the best chance of getting access to it.

The notion of sustainable development, promulgated by former Premier Alex Scott, has fallen from vogue in recent years, he said.

Asked if the economic recession had taken the wind out of investment in renewable energy, Dr Chapman said: “That’s something I will highlight. That came up in my research — the issue of how wealth and power relate to the integration of renewable energy, and who has access to these things from a domestic point of view. Already in Bermuda you can see in the newspaper who has a large set-up at their place of business. For the average small business owner, that doesn’t seem to be an option.

“I’m not going to share everything from my thesis; it’s too broad. But I will give some information from research in the UK which shows who is investing in renewable energy. For example, I visited peoples’ homes and shadowed solar installers — many of them were retired professionals in their sixties and seventies. Rather than put their money into banks, they were investing in renewable energy, mostly solar. The return over time from their investment was greater for them. It has become a way for people with wealth to put money down and see a return. Bermuda is still a far ways from developing a feed-in-tariffs scheme like the UK where the utility company agrees to pay people who are making their own energy.”

The public forum will be at the Bermuda College’s North Hall on Monday from 6.30pm. Dr Chapman will also host a class for high school students on Tuesday from 1.30pm to 3pm. Other public events will be Wednesday’s Nursing Expo, and a live cooking demonstration on Thursday with Chef Teneika Eve.