On the eve of a Senate fact-finding mission to Florida to observe a power plant that burns petroleum coke, the V.I. Waste Management Authority and Water and Power Authority Tuesday issued calls for the public to come ask questions and “get the facts” about similar power plants proposed for St. Thomas and St. Croix.
The invitation to three public meetings comes as Alpine Energy Group, the Colorado-based company contracted by WAPA to build the two facilities, prepares to testify before the V.I. Legislature next week about health risks and environmental impacts associated with using pet coke as a supplementary fuel.
According to the utilities’ plans, pet coke, a waste product of the oil refining process to be obtained from the Hovensa refinery on St. Croix, will supplement the primary fuel of municipal trash that would be otherwise destined for island landfills. Far cheaper than oil, the pet coke-and-garbage combination has been pushed as a way of solving two of the territory’s ills—high energy costs and overflowing landfills.
The many unknowns and growing concerns about dangerous emissions, however, have given law makers a newfound sense of caution about what had until recently been a fast-tracked project.
On Dec. 21 the V.I. Legislature decided to postpone a final vote to approve two lease agreements between the V.I. government and Alpine, leaving them time to learn more about pet coke and other aspects of the proposal.
To that end, Sens. Craig Barshinger, Sammuel Sanes and Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly will be in Florida Wednesday, along with WAPA Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. and St. Croix environmentalist Paul Chakroff, to tour a pet coke-burning power station north of Jacksonville.
After they tour the Jacksonville Energy Authority’s (JEA) St. Johns River facility Wednesday morning, they are scheduled to meet with representatives from the local Sierra Club to discuss impacts on health and the environment, and then plan to tour a model solar- and wind-powered facility near Tampa, according to Chakroff.
Calling pet coke an “extremely dirty fuel” laden with heavy metals and other toxins, Chakroff conceded that the plants proposed for the territory would have scrubbers to remove the dangerous material before they ever left the stack. He said the cost to do that, however, would be too high, cancelling out the millions in annual savings projected by WAPA officials and Alpine.
Hodge said he welcomes Wednesday’s field trip, as well as the upcoming round of meetings, to answer those and other questions about the proposed trash-to-power plants.
Both men agreed that the more people know, the better they can decide for themselves. Chakroff advocates for town hall meetings, and Hodge has written editorials and provides a library of materials at WAPA business offices and on the utility’s website at www.viwapa.vi.
WAPA and WMA officials are holding the first of three public meetings from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, at UVI’s Great Hall on St. Croix. The next day, Jan. 12, a similar meeting is set for 6 p.m. at Charlotte Amalie High School on St. Thomas. And, finally on St. John, a government-sponsored meeting will be held at the Legislature from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14.
Alpine officials will testify before Sen. Barshinger’s Committee on Economic Development, Energy and Technology on St. Thomas at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Crucians in Focus have announced plans to debate the issue at 6 p.m. that same night at Gertrude’s Restaurant on St. Croix.