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Cahill Convenes Town Hall Meeting

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Plase gasification is coming to Barbados!
Plase gasification is coming to Barbados!

Within the last seven days a tiny noticed was published in the press that Cahill Energy will convened a ‘Town Hall meeting’ to informed members of the public salient points about the USD300 million waste-to-energy plasma gasification plant. BU has been reliably informed the Town Hall meeting was successfully held and although scheduled to end at 8PM finished about 9PM. The illegal meeting was also mentioned by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler in a radio program last Sunday.

The Town Planning Act requires that a 28 day notice period be given of such a meeting.

Related Link: Town Planning Act

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165 responses to “Cahill Convenes Town Hall Meeting”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    @Cayote

    You are obviously challenged at the moment.

  2. Dompey Avatar
    Dompey

    Political Watcher

    Question: would you support your mother if she had a psychological meltdown, or would you abandon her in her time of need? Do you understand where I am going with this sir? It may appear as though my question is simplistic in nature but there is a fundamental meaning to what I am trying to convey to you. Now, I hope you’re wise enough to interpretively extrapolate the superficiality of my query?

  3. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    Wylie
    I am with you on this one. Guernsey-based Cahill Energy Limited has the smell of smoke and the looks of mirrors. Where are the investors?

    Hants | July 12, 2014 at 6:03 PM |
    “The official told the audience, which included Minister of Commerce Donville Inniss and head of the Barbados Private Sector Association Alex MacDonald, the research, design and build of the structure, as well as its operation and maintenance rested squarely on the shoulder of the company which is based in Canada.”
    source. http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2014/07/12/cahill-energy-renews-job-promise/
    Rest assured there will be no shenanigans with this project because the company is based in CANADA the land of FOI and pitbull investigators.

    Hants – you cannot count on CANADA FOI legislation to shed any light on Cahill Energy Limited, the developer (BOLT?) which is a company incorporated in Guernsey on August 22, 2012.

    The company which is based in Canada upon whose shoulder the operation and maintenance rests squarely is a small company Alter NRG Corp. which owns the Westinghouse Plasma Solution plasma gasification technology to be used by Cahill.

    See AlterNRG website at http://www.alternrg.com/about_us/

    See NRG stock trading stats at:
    http://web.tmxmoney.com/quote.php?qm_symbol=NRG

    When this deal was announced back in March the Minister of Finance was quoted as saying “The Canadian firm that manufactures the gasifiers, Alter NRG, on the announcement of the deal, saw its stock rise 5.5 percent.” As you can see in the TMX charts, NRG has seen its stock lose close to 40% of its value. And the Barbados connection has virtually nothing to do with the spike or the tumble.

  4. David Avatar
    David

    @DD

    If Cahill cannot raise the capex then there is no project, how difficult is this to understand?

  5. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    David

    Not diffucult to understand at all.

    Cahill needs to ” Show Us The Money”, or “Shut the F..k Up”

  6. David Avatar
    David

    BU has called for the government to share pertinent info from the MOU. Is there some kind of performance bond for example?

  7. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    David

    I am not going to hold my breath waiting for pertinent info from government or Cahill.

    They both deal in smoke and mirrors

  8. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    @David

    “You are obviously challenged at the moment.”

    Yes your correct, my only challenge at the moment is trying to understand how Barbadians can be so ignorant and complacent. The country is going DOWN the drain with great flourish, “WASTE TAX”(SHIT TAX) is but one of numerous agenda items on the sinking ship list.

    “Costa Concordia” comes to mind, she was up-righted, floated and hauled away for SCRAP(That’s useable WASTE), unlike Barbados which will likely have no residual value unless Bajans get their act together, HUMMMMMMM.

  9. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    @David

    “If Cahill cannot raise the capex then there is no project, how difficult is this to understand?”

    This is very CLEAR, the FOGGY PART IS —– Implementation of a SOLID WASTE TAX prior to there being an actual FUNDED PROJECT being implemented to which the TAX is directed.

    Looks like hooking the horse up to a cart that does not have wheels.

  10. nationnews Avatar
    nationnews

    The worst that can happen no WTE and bajans keep paying for energy through the nose

  11. David Avatar
    David

    To clarify: the existing landfills runneth over, we have to find a long term solution.

  12. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    The website http://www.cahill-energy.com which was advertised as going to be presented at the “Open House” was not in fact presented. Cahill spokeswoman said it would be up on Monday morning July 14, 2014 and as of 1:30pm Barbados time July 14, 2014 it is still showing just “registered”.

    If you can’t build a website can you really build a USD$300 million waste to energy plant?

  13. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    There is no question Cahill could find investors. There are people will hundreds of millions looking for things to invest in.

    A project with an ROI guaranteed by Government is attractive even in the current economic climate.

    The problem as always is that the Barbados government has a culture of not clearly telling the public how projects are structured.

    We should not have to be searching the internet for information that should be available to the people of Barbados.

  14. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    What money or resources does the Government of Barbados have to guarantee a ROI to anybody? …the shiite tax?

    All this plant “guarantees” is that no matter what, ….energy costs are destined to be high in Barbados for decades to come…

    So as solar and other alternatives fall in price, we are committing to a long-term, high-priced arrangement with CAHILL that even rivals the CURRENT unsustainable high costs with BL&P.
    BBs!
    Brilliant!

  15. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    The proposed model is for Cahill to sell the power at a price point which will create the opportunity for government to benfit from the spread when onselling to BL&P.

  16. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ David
    Bullshit may baffle brains…..but not bushmen.
    Which will it be?
    At a price which allows Cahill to make their ROI? ….or a price which allows Government to make a profit from the ‘spread’?
    Answer ….BOTH.

    Interpretation: High energy prices to Bajan BBs for generations to come…even as solar based energy will continue to fall.

  17. David Avatar
    David

    @Bushie

    If the government does not want to pass on savings there is the energy securith argument they may resort to…lol.

  18. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    @David

    “To clarify: the existing landfills runneth over, we have to find a long term solution.”

    Not so my man —– GREENLAND is EMPTY — shall we go there ?

    INCOMPETENCE at THE HIGHEST LEVEL —- Present WASTE TO ENERGY SCHEME is just the latest incarnation of the Greenland fiasco.

    Landfill is still the most cost effective in the short/long term, remember the gas from a landfill can be captured and used to generate power as well and this technology is proven and used.

  19. David Avatar
    David

    @Willy

    In case you missed the memo Greenland was scrapped for the reasons Richard Goddard and many others articulated at the time.

  20. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    @ David

    Did not miss the MEMO, you obviously missed the INCOMPETENCE/CORRUPTION etc. and the $60M expended, thank god for people like Richard Goddard.

    The landfill was not the issue, the selection of the site WAS THE ISSUE, even though experts from Canada warned early in the project the site was unacceptable, Barbados incompetent officials were FULL SPEED AHEAD as much construction monies were lining their pockets.

    Don’t use incompetence in selecting the landfill site to condemn all landfill sites, they are still the most economical and cost effective solution at the moment.

  21. David Avatar
    David

    @Wily

    Your earlier response was that we have Greenland, we don’t.

    On Monday, 14 July 2014, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  22. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    @ David
    “In case you missed the memo Greenland was scrapped for the reasons Richard Goddard and many others articulated at the time.”

    Remind me of the name of that brilliant economist that forced Greenland down our throats.

  23. David Avatar
    David

    Owen Seymour Arthur.

  24. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    brilliant economist..but don’t know one damn thing about geolgy

  25. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    The website http://www.cahill-energy.com is still not up. Open House advertisement promised it would be presented on Thursday July 10th then at the Open House, Cahill meeting spokeswoman Clare Cowan promised it for Monday July 14th, 2014.

  26. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    @Simple Simon

    “brilliant economist..but don’t know one damn thing about geology”

    Don’t know a damn thing about geology is correct, however I would also question the Brilliant Economist statement. OSA looked brilliant in GOOD Financial times, however now the bottom has fallen out of the piggy bank he’s short on Economic ideas.

    The pot can call the kettle BLACK until the kettle itself is BLACK, then they are both in the fire together with know practical idea other than name calling. BLP-DLP

  27. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    @David

    I think we are both generally on the same side with respect to Cahill. The management of WASTE however is an issue which developed countries have been struggling with. There are numerous ideas, proposals, experiments etc. being thrown around some of which are practical, some cost effective and some of the Ponzi scheme. The question for Barbados is to select the best fit WASTE MANAGEMENT plan and at all costs avoid the Ponzi schemes, even though they will be the promoted and preferred solutions by the corrupt politicians.

  28. David Avatar
    David

    Roy Morris writes a stinging article today directed at Cahill Energy in his column, In the Public Interest.

    IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Some burning Cahill questions

    IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Some burning Cahill questions

    BY ROY R. MORRIS | WED, JULY 16, 2014 – 12:00 AM

    Thank you, Cahill Energy, for the explanation!

    Thank you, too, for the promise of half a billion dollars in investment. The country certainly can do with it at this time.

    But come again! You have a lot more questions to answer before you satisfy the enquiring minds of Barbadians.

    Clare Cowan, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cahill, the Guernsey-based company that is supposedly building the proposed waste-to-energy plant at Vaucluse, St Thomas, took the time out last week at a town hall meeting of sorts to offer some explanations about the project, but just as the surprise Saturday morning signing ceremony with Government back in March raised many eyebrows, the information offered by the CEO last Thursday night left too many holes.

    The CEO said she wanted to make it clear that the Barbados Government was not being called on to put up one cent – that the entire investment was being undertaken by Cahill. My question: Is Cahill investing in similar manner to a prospective homeowner building a house, Trinidad’s Massy building a new supermarket or Jamaica’s Sandals building a new hotel; or will Government, or better put, the taxpayers, have to “pay” at some later date?

    http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/in-the-public-interest-some-burning-cahill-questions/

  29. David Avatar
    David

    @Wily and DD

    Was it you who indicated that Cahill Energy in Canada made no mention of the investment in Barbados?

    Check their news release page:

    http://www.cahill-energy.com/news/press-releases/

  30. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/company?companyId=357274467&targetid=profile

  31. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Company Description: Cahill Energy has been created to build, own and operate utility-scale plasma gasification plants in key waste management to energy generation markets. The Company, and its CEO, Clare Cowan, have brought together world class talent to fill senior management, board and advisory positions that commands both domain and managerial expertise and brings the high level governmental and global capital markets access required to expand its reputation as a leader and first market mover in providing specialized and professional project management and oversight services. Cahill will manage each of the plasma gasification plants it intends to build as individual subsidiaries. Cahill has demonstrated that it is able to compete with larger, well established, players supplying incineration solutions, the competitor technology, in an extremely competitive and capital intensive industry

  32. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    “The CEO said she wanted to make it clear that the Barbados Government was not being called on to put up one cent – that the entire investment was being undertaken by Cahill.”

    That is wonderful in theory. Now all we need to know is exactly how Cahill plans to profit from its investment.

    Who will be buying the energy produced ?

  33. Kammie a Holder Avatar
    Kammie a Holder

    This project stinks to the max and too many unanswered questions like the guarantee the government gave Cahill. What about the water needed for scrubbing the particulate matter and the water for the steam generation? The question begs where is Dr Denis Lowe and why is he so silent and we only hearing Chris Sinckler on this project? Who makes up the Infrastructural Committee of Government?

  34. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    http://www.plant.ca/tag/cahill-energy/

  35. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2014/03/240m-plasma-gasification-waste-to-energy-deal-signed-in-barbados.html

    Read between the lines.

  36. Kammie a Holder Avatar
    Kammie a Holder

    When I told CEO of Cahill in a one on one that the public of Barbados knows her company was not one of the four companies shortlisted she was silent.

    We would have to be a banana republic when a Real Estate company 7th Heaven tasked by Cahill to find a third world country in the Caribbean can dupe our politicians who behave like simpletons.

    Singapore does not even have such a big plant with its 4 Million population. Cahill needs to tell us of one state in the US with Plasma Gasification seeing this is MIT technology?

    Dr Denis Lowe can stop hiding and tell the country of a SIDS with such a plant and I dare say this is bare Greenwashing.

    This project will be financial and environmental disaster of epic proportions. I am further convinced that up to 75% or more of the cost will not be spent in Barbados.

    Sadly, Bajans are reactionary, for nearly three years the Future Centre Trust and I raised these issues and we were ignored by the populace. Now the tax is upon us, everybody making a song and dance. However, this tax is here to stay and we will never have legislated recycling or disincentives to littering as we need as much waste as possible to feed the D L W T E P.

  37. Tell me Why Avatar
    Tell me Why

    Kammie. Is it true that with a BOLT agreement, Government will have to pay a percentage of the overall cost of the project every year. Do you know the amount of money Barbados will have to pay PER YEAR before the TRANSFER.to Barbados.

  38. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    WTE plants in Ontario Canada. Let google be your friend.

    http://www.powerauthority.on.ca/current-electricity-contracts/efw

  39. Say no to foolishness aka waiting Avatar
    Say no to foolishness aka waiting

    Lunatic fringe environmentalists must not be allowed to hold up projects which bring foreign exchange and jobs to Barbados. These mad people are not only usually wrong their radical views often lead them to erratic behavior even violence.

  40. Bajan Yankee Avatar
    Bajan Yankee

    Persons without ambition and showing chronic dependency are most likely suffering from yardfowl syndrome. Do not hold it against them please be sympathetic as they are not aware of their sickness.

    Glad to see bajans finally speaking out on issues. If this project was in the US someone who be locked up. Our mayor got locked up for fraud here in New Orleans.

  41. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    One thing wrong with this project is that the taxpayers have not been given all the details.

    Waste management is a difficult problem in a small island like Barbados.We cannot do like the city of Toronto and ship garbage 200km and let someone else deal with it.

  42. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    Cahill hinted at the economic model to drive this project. But to your point the minister of environment needs to speech to the relevant issues in the MOU to allay taxpayers concerns.

  43. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    David
    Thanks for the heads-up on the return of http://www.cahill-energy.com.

    DD has zero knowledge of the Plasma Gasification WTE technology, but does believe he can smell a scam.

    I have quickly gone through the revived website, and have not seen anything new or anything substantive.

    Am wondering to whom the website (scam) is targeted, investors, Barbados politicians, Barbados public?

    The press releases and news items are same stuff we read back in March.

    Legitimate businesses publish financial data in their websites. Legitimate businesses publish the names of officers and directors in their websites.

    Legitimate businesses have their own mission, vision and values; and do not use some airy-fairy quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 – 1832, as their philosophy to head up the About Us section of their websites.

    Legitimate businesses do not include images of major projects (Niagara Falls) to imply they have a relationship to them in their websites.

    The About Us section is pure PR smoke and mirrors.

    Cahill Energy was established to provide a leading edge, environmentally sound solution to the dual challenges of waste management and energy security, by funding and managing projects utilizing the most innovative Plasma Gasification technology available to maximize and harness “green energy” from waste.

    Cahill Energy Limited is a company registered in Guernsey that has been created to fund and manage Plasma Gasification Projects. The company is comprised of prominent individuals with backgrounds at the summit of statecraft and business and expert engineers in Plasma Gasification.

    Cahill Energy plans to develop a pipeline of plasma gasification plants in carefully selected locations to help alleviate the critical challenge of waste management, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions, while delivering value for shareholders. Plants will be developed in sites rigorously assessed against Cahill Energy’s investment criteria and constructed and operated by industry experts and world class multinational partners in waste management and plasma gasification technology.

    Having conducted extensive research into the waste to energy needs of various countries and held in depth discussions with governments around the world to identify opportunities providing mutual benefit for both the countries in question and our investors, Cahill Energy has initially focused on countries in the Caribbean region due to a mounting waste management crisis combined with dependence on extremely costly imported heavy fuel oil to supply energy needs.

    DD can find no connection between Guernsey-based Cahill Energy Limited and the Cahill Group of Companies in Canada in their website http://www.gjcahill.com

    Until we see some numbers and some names of prominent individuals with backgrounds at the summit of statecraft and business and expert engineers in Plasma Gasification this is just a scam. Or better still show us the details of WTE projects they have built and are operated.

  44. David Avatar
    David

    @DD

    Why is Westinghouse doing business with Cahill?

  45. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    David

    The “Westinghouse” is not US giant Westinghouse Electric Corporation; but is Westinghouse Plasma Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alter NRG Corp., a small Canadian company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange; AlterNRG Corp. (TSX: T.NRG, Stock Forum).

    I do not know the history; but guess the gasification technology was developed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and acquired by AlterNRG Corp.

    A news item posted on http://www.alternrg.com includes

    “Guernsey-based Cahill Energy said Monday it has signed an historic deal with the Government of Barbados to build and operate a leading edge clean energy plant on the Caribbean Island.

    The plant is expected to utilize plasma gasification technology supplied by Westinghouse Plasma Corp., a unit of AlterNRG Corp.”

    The use of the word “expected” suggests to me there is no firm deal between Cahill and AlterNRG yet – until Cahill finds some investors so they can pay AlterNRG for the use of the technology.

  46. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    From the http://www.cahill-energy.com/about-us/ website – “Cahill Energy Limited is a company registered in Guernsey that has been created to fund and manage Plasma Gasification Projects. The company is comprised of prominent individuals with backgrounds at the summit of statecraft and business and expert engineers in Plasma Gasification.”

    Now let’s compare the above limited profile or track record or lack of track record with the present strategic partners of Westinghouse/ AlterNRG as stated on their website http://www.alternrg.com/our-strategy/strategic_partners/

    1) Air Products, is a Fortune 500 Company (NYSE: APD) and a world leader in the industrial gasses market. Air Products operates in over 40 countries, has over 18,000 employees and $10 billion per year in revenue.
    2) SMS Envocare, is a subsidiary of SMSIL, central India’s largest civil engineering and infrastructure development company, with over 2500 employees worldwide
    3) Udhe, is a subsidiary of Thyssen Krupp, a company with 170,000 employees across 80 countries and more than €49 billion of annual revenue. Uhde has extensive gas processing expertise.
    4) KNM, a process equipment manufacturer and a publicly traded company in Malaysia, is a global turnkey solutions provider for the oil, gas, petrochemicals and renewable energy industries. It core business is providing process equipment manufacturing.

    How do the above entities stack up against Cahill Energy Limited with its description of itself as a Company registered less than 2 years ago in Guernsey (22 Aug 2012 https://www.greg.gg/webCompSearchDetails.aspx?id=iqwS70SvL4U=&r=0&crn=&cn=cahill&rad=StartsWith&ck=False) that has been conjured, sorry created, to fund and manage Plasma Gasification Projects .

  47. David Avatar
    David

    @DD

    Thanks for the clarification.

  48. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    Nostradamus

    I think we agree that Guernsey-based Cahill Energy Limited is nothing more than PR speak. No numbers and no names; except CEO Clare Cowan, who seems to have escaped Google’s reach except for her profile in Zoominfo. Can’t even find her in Linkdin.

    Canada-based AlterNRG Corp, on the other hand is a small public company incorporated in and operating since 2006. In 2007 it acquired Westinghouse Plasma Corporation for about CAD$30 million. Its audited financial statements published at its website show it has raised over CAD$150 million of capital from private and public equity issues and has accumulated losses of CAD$115 million to end of 2013; but is still able to raise new equity – $5 million raised so far in 2014.

  49. Drop Jaw Avatar
    Drop Jaw

    Due Diligence

    This is about ‘fees’ by time the project collapses Bajans would come to appreciate that the GOB funded some design or engineering ‘fees’ as the investment in this phantom project.
    Smells a lot like the Pierhead Marina and the Cruise Pier projects, over $50 million in ‘fees’ already spend on those two already.

  50. Drop Jaw Avatar
    Drop Jaw

    Pure fuckery. So sick and tired of people pushing phantom projects just siphon of tens of millions of dollars in ‘fees’. The road certain destruction so long as people focus on extracting ‘fees’ without regard for whether the project is built or not.

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