Call for public discussion on waste-to-energy plant

INDEPENDENT Senator Dr. Christopher Maynard believes that there should have been public debate on the proposed waste-to-energy plant for Barbados.

He was speaking in the Upper Chamber yesterday on the Fair Trading Commission (Amendment) Bill and the Utilities Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020, which were debated jointly.

Saying it was not the first time that a discussion took place in the other place about a waste-to-energy plant, but like the last time, there was no public discussion.

Last week in the Lower Chamber, Minister of Small Business, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, Dwight Sutherland, led off the debate and revealed that the 25-megawatt waste-to-energy/biomass plant will be achieved through an investment of some $320 million. He said the waste-to-energy plant will address, among other things, this country’s garbage challenges and its energy needs.

“We are burning organic waste, disposing of organic waste and through the Minister of Agriculture, he will make available all the fallow land, all the idle land to be used for the production of biomass, and he has already identified that.

“Because when we start this plant, we are looking at 20 per cent local organic waste and we are importing 80 per cent. But that can’t deter us, because all the cost benefit analysis being done by Minister Caddle and her team, and all prospects look good in terms of the return on investment and in terms of what investment will come to this country next year and I think even before, and the creation of jobs,” he said.

According to Senator Maynard: “Mr. President, something as important as a waste-to-energy plant needs to be discussed in the same way as we have had discussions about renewable energy, it is

all part of the process. It would seem unreasonable to tell Barbadians that we will have a waste-to-energy plant and reduce the need for a large landfill by burning or gasification of our waste, but at the same time we would have to import waste into this small country.

“We would like to assume that forever this would happen smoothly without a single accident... that will not happen. How will we control what is brought in? Will it only contain the things that we say can come and when the wrong things arrive and there is a problem, how will we deal with it? It requires extensive discussion and debate before any agreements are reached and signed off on,” Senator Maynard queried.

The senator, while commending the Government for attempting to compress a 20-year Renewable Energy programme into a ten-year programme, said persons should not expect to have everything done right the first time, particularly as the sector continues to evolve.

He said, however, that greater focus must be placed on storage and disposal of renewable energy technologies.

“Already we have seen the updating of renewable energy systems and the photovoltaic systems that were installed five years ago that were then current generation, are now being replaced. And some are being sold on and that has started the cycle of disposal. Nowhere have I seen any plan for disposal of any of the materials.

“If the change from fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles is going to happen, it has to be a major plan for disposal of the fossil fuel vehicles.”

He said he is not suggesting that fossil fuel vehicles should disappear. “In fact, in the same way that steam trains have not disappeared, there is always a place for vintage and classic cars. So where we come to the point where we legislate about disposal of cars, there must be consideration for preservation.”

Dr. Maynard said special attention has to be placed on storage. “Those who are early on the grid to supply power might not have to have storage as mandated now, but there should be some consideration that a percentage for generation beyond a certain capacity should have storage. Otherwise you will find all of the small householders here, who don’t get on to that first phase, will have to buy storage and their costs will be significantly higher.

“We come back to the same point – when we reach the end of life of these storage devices, what will we do with them? Will they be dumped in the gullies? Will they be in the water courses? Will they end up in our drinking water when they break down? So we need to have some serious discussion in the public sector, about what our plans are going to be and seriously do it before the influx becomes unmanageable,” he said. (JH)