Ministerial Statement on Energy Proposal
In the House of Assembly on Friday [May 27] Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Works Derrick Burgess addressed recent claims by the Bermuda Environmental Energy Sustainable Group [BEESG] regarding the future of the Tynes Bay incinerator.
BEESG had proposed building a generation plant on the Tynes Bay incinerator site capable of producing 18 to 20 MegaWatts of electricity per day — enough to provide power for thousands of Bermuda homes — using an emerging German technology called Stabilat.
The process claims to be able to produce clean, sustainable electrical energy from garbage and other waste and has been adopted by a number of European cities.
Aside from a generating plant, the BEESG proposal for the Tynes Bay site would also include a sewage treatment facility.
” … While the Ministry will always remain open to new ideas and technology, we require the information to evaluate these ideas for accuracy, effectiveness and most importantly, suitability in Bermuda, before long term commitments, such as those being asked by BEESG, are made,” said Minister Burgess.
The Minister’s full statement is below:
Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to provide a response to the various assertions being made by the Bermuda Environmental Energy Sustainable Group or BEESG in the local media about its ability to provide an alternative means of waste disposal and energy production that will replace the Tynes Bay Waste-to-Energy Facility.
While I will not speak to the individual claims themselves, I will say that what BEESG is promising is extremely idealistic and therefore must be vetted seriously by the Ministry of Public Works before any decision to replace the Tynes Bay facility is made.
Mr. Speaker, I can report that on April 20th, 2011, technical officers from the Ministry met with representatives from BEESG to investigate those claims and to learn about the process being proposed.
BEESG, however, indicated that they were unable to provide substantial information to support their claims, or provide any concrete methodology of how they would achieve their goals until an initial study was performed.
BEESG advised that to perform such a study, a Memorandum of Understanding would have to be signed between them and the Bermuda Government.
The Memorandum of Understanding required substantial Government commitments, such as the provision of all the waste generated on island for the next 50 years as well as a 50 year lease on the current Tynes Bay location…..and an additional five (5) acres of land that would be required adjacent to Tynes Bay.
Obviously, the Government could not commit to such terms without knowing the details of what was being proposed and proof that BEESG could deliver on the various promises being made.
The Ministry therefore did not sign the Memorandum of Understanding, but did offer the full cooperation and sharing of information by its technical officers in order for BEESG to obtain all information required to provide a comprehensive proposal to Government.
The Ministry is considering the proposed Non-Disclosure Agreement so that any sensitive information submitted by BEESG would remain confidential. However, to date, BEESG is more insistent on signing an MOU before it will provide any detailed information needed for the Ministry to fully evaluate the system being proposed.
Mr. Speaker, while the Ministry will always remain open to new ideas and technology, we require the information to evaluate these ideas for accuracy, effectiveness and most importantly, suitability in Bermuda, before long term commitments, such as those being asks by BEESG, are made.
I would also like to remind the representatives of BEESG, and indeed any entity seeking to make proposals on Waste-to-Energy, that the Ministry has over fifteen years of hands on experience in the Waste-to-Energy field…..with key local knowledge and contacts throughout the Waste-to-Energy industry worldwide.
Therefore, there is very little that the Ministry does not already know in terms of alternative Waste-to-Energy technologies available today, including the system being proposed by BEESG.
Mr. Speaker, it should be important to note that the Government has already made a substantial investment of some $25 million dollars into the refurbishment of the Tynes Bay infrastructure, which will see the plant operating soundly for the next 10 to 15 years.
The Ministry also has plans for the addition of a third stream that will restore plant redundancy and provide long term sustainability going into the future.
To discard such an investment is simply not a wise use of the tax payer’s money.
We would recommend that BEESG, or any entity submitting extraordinary proposals, must come with the hard evidence to satisfy the Government before any decision to replace our current system will be considered.
To choose the wrong system would mean jeopardizing the long term sustainability of our island’s waste management infrastructure…..and that is a risk the Government certainly will not take!
Thank you Mr. Speaker
Read More About
Category: All, Environment
