I am amazed at the apparent insistence of the present Government of Anguilla and in particular the Minister of Utilities, the Hon. Evan Gumbs, to continue to pursue discussions on the proposed Waste to Energy Plant at Corito. The Land Development Control Committee (LDCC), in a press release on October 9, 2014, clearly reported that following the period of public consultations, and its own review, it considered the application and REFUSED to grant permission for the development as proposed. To summarize its reasons for the refusal, in a few words: “It can be very damaging both to human beings and the environment.”
The proposal as presented uses an incineration method called pyrolysis which decomposes organic material at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The process produces toxic gases and material. Inquiring minds that wish to do their own research would find it extremely difficult, if at all possible, to find any literature in the vast resource of the Internet, and other scholarly publications, that report positive things about waste to energy projects. On the contrary you will find sound bites like: “ Pyrolysis is a failed technology”; “Not trash to steam —Trash to toxic ash and toxic air emissions”; “Not waste to energy — Waste of energy”; “Incinerators burn money”; “Most expensive way to manage waste”; and on and on.
The majority of these comments suggest that the Waste to Energy proposal, as being presented to Anguilla, does much more harm than good. In the circumstances one is left to question where are the perceived benefits that impel this Government and the Minister of Utilities to be so determined to pursue this proposal in the face of overwhelming negative impacts on human life and the environment. The side effects of this process can only be categorized as hazardous and even lethal. One presenter on the Energy Justice Network made the comment: “Murder is Murder — whether by gun or chemical!” Such a comment may have a great deal of merit if the Government overturns the ruling of the LDCC. Unless I am missing something in the research, I must therefore urge the Government to uphold the decision of the LDCC in the face of any appeal.
I have asked this question in the past and must do so once again: “Why is the Government disregarding the tried and proven alternative energy options which are available to us in abundance in Anguilla as opposed to the risks involved in the option of pyrolysis that it seems to be favouring?.” Cynical thinkers may wish to suggest that it may be because of some personal benefit; just plain stubbornness or even stupidity — given the glaring reasons why pyrolysis should not be pursued. I would respectfully submit that the very thought of Government overturning the decision of the LDCC on this proposal would give credence to at least one of the foregoing. And I would suggest that such a decision should result in immediate public protest of the most radical kind.
Inevitably, at times like these, persons seeking to gain some political advantage seek to rewrite history and try to claim ownership of ideas and solutions that were around long before he/she was even noticed. And especially when they try to lump the Anguilla United Movement and our party in the same category when it comes to renewable energy solutions and initiatives. Such attempts to claim the spotlight can be deliberate, but also can be the result of genuine ignorance of the record of our party, the Anguilla United Front (AUF), on renewable energy. Whatever the reason, I believe it would be instructive to all if I were to present the facts in this column.
In 2006 the Anguilla United Front Government established and funded an Energy Committee to:
• Explore the feasibility of using renewable energy on Anguilla
• Recommend possible changes to energy policies in place at the time
• Recruit specific consultancies in order to analyze and interpret physical and economic data as to the viability of Renewable Energy
• Explore ways and means of funding and financing the use of Rebewable Energy.
That committee was established with a membership comprising:
• The then Speaker of the House, Hon. David Carty (Chairman)
• CEO of ANGLEC (Mr. McConnie)
• Ms. Beth Barry (Secretary and Renewable Energy Coordinator)
• P.S. MICU or his rep. (Mr. Crefton Niles)
• Director of Environment (Mr. Karim Hodge)
• Executive Director of the National Trust (Ms. Farah Mukhida)
• Former P. S. Economic Development & Planning (Mr. Marcel Fahie)
• Executive Director Anguilla Hotel & Tourism Association
• Managing Director of KPMG (Mr. Claudel Romney)
• Mr. Peter Reynolds, technical expert on Energy and Environment Design.
It is to be noted that the members of the Committee were selected on the basis of the technical expertise, and served free without pay or any form of compensation. The Government of Anguilla funded the Energy Committee in 2006 for four years, with $200,000 from local resources to enable consultancies, purchase of equipment, public relations programs and administrative fees to the Anguilla National Trust. The Committee was also successful in obtaining a grant of $100,000 from the Overseas Territories Environment Program for two years to pay administrative staff salaries.
Some of the outcomes from the work of the Committee include:
• Drafted an Energy Policy in 2007 that was adopted by the Government of Anguilla and ANGLEC in 2008.
• Established effective connections with the Clinton Global Initiative.
• Designed the “Anguilla Model” and the Corito Zero Energy Development Zone
• Proposed legislative amendments to the Electricity Ordinance to enable grid tie legislation.
• Developed a new awareness of economic and moral imperative of Renewable Energy through public consultations mainly in church venues.
The present Government has done practically nothing in the way of progressing the gains made by the Committee. The Energy Committee is, as a result, both defunct and without funding. The Government has, however, permitted one local and two expatriate- owned solar systems to operate but with no grid tie to ANGLEC. This does not achieve the positive economies of scale that can have island-wide benefits.
Obviously a new AUF Government would continue these initiatives that, have unfortunately, been disbanded over the last four years. The AUF would:
• Immediately (with the support of ANGLEC) negotiate power purchase agreements with private investors for a four-megawatt Solar Farm and a four megawatt Wind Farm to be operational in 24 months.
• Reduce electricity costs by:
20% in 1st year
25% in 2nd year
30% in 3rd year
40% in 4th year
We will also leverage the Climate Change argument – to the maximum degree – possible with HMG, the EU and the Clinton Global Initiative to obtain grant funding, or very low rates of financing in order to achieve the vision we have embraced over the last nine years. The Vision: “Achieve energy independence by 2020 and establish a low carbon economy.”
I believe that this present AUM Government seems to be going in the wrong direction with failed technology and dangerous options. The path to a sustainable energy independent economy has already been charted. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Neither is there any need for anyone to try to rewrite history simply to gain a fleeting political advantage. Neither pyrolysis nor paralysis is the answer!
