Fireworks started the moment concerned Barbadians entered the LESCS and were informed questions had to be written down to solicit answers from the panel assembled, including the much talked […]about Clare Cowan. In her opening statement she communicated the main purpose of the Open House was to debunk untruths being posted on the blog (BU) and Facebook.
A very informed crowd despite not having access to an open mike peppered the panel with questions about the project delivered by an obnoxious moderator. The bottom line: those who attended left unhappy because key questions were not answered or were deflected.
The disappointment for BU was hearing responses to two questions. The first was if Cahill Energy is aware of a plasma gasification plant built on any island of similar size to Barbados anywhere in the world. Clare Cowan answered she was not aware. And the second question: how would environmental standards be enforced – to which Clare Cowan responded a community effort is her best recommendation. She added the government will likely enact legislation borrowed from the UK or Canada to enforce the standards required.
Other interesting observations, not exhaustive:-
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Cowan implored Barbadians to ask the government about how it plans to pass on the benefits of energy savings to Barbados which provokes guffaws from the large and boisterous crowd.
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Cahill Energy is a company registered in Guernsey with two shareholders.
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Cowan refused to divulge any details about the agreement with government and cited standard NDA rules.
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The general EIA was completed but a location specific EIA has to be also done to accompany an application to Town Planning permission.
- Clare Cowan denied a finders fee was paid on the deal.
- The TP has to approve for the project to become a reality.
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Cowan denied Cahill Energy is a shell company.
- The cost of the plant will be BBD700 million
- The hazardous waste generated will be shipped to Canada.
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The Environmentalist engineer on the panel admitted he was clueless about how the proposed plant will treat with Nano particulates.
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The panel was non committal about the source and volume of water required to support plant operations until the EIS has been completed.
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The building of the plant will create 700 jobs and to run it 75.
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There is no plant of proposed size for Barbados operating as a commercially viable operation anywhere in the world.
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The plant’s design is a 55:45 mix of waste and bio-feedstock.
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The government has given 15 acres of land to the project at a value (according to Cowan) of two million dollars.
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Zero Waste Management is a good option to aspire and implement but it does not deal with the waste management problem today.
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Cahill Energy will work with SBRC and B’s Recycling because the gasification plant will not accept waste with a low calorific value including metals. B’s will be paid top dollar for waste.
- Government officials were not present.
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Barbados will 3,000 acres of king grass to feed the plant.
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The investment is projected to have a 19% ROI
Several other points were raised however several questions about the agreement remained unanswered. The meeting started just after 7PM and finished promptly at 9.30PM to the relief of Clare Cowan who received ‘licks like peas’. An interesting event occurred after the meeting ended, Patrick Frost of BSTU fame address the assemble and urged everyone to analyse the data, continue to have a dispassionate debate and be ready when the EIA is released for public discussion. His intervention drew loud support.
The location of a plasma gasification plant has stirred deep emotions in Barbadians living on the rock. Perhaps it is the memory for some of Greenland.
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