A proposed three-way partnership between Tibbar Energy, the Department of Agriculture and the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority could help lower electricity bills, provide support for farmers and end the practice of discharging wastewater into the ocean off St. Croix, according to representatives of all three organizations speaking at a Wednesday night meeting of the St. Croix Economic Development Initiative.
Tibbar Energy is a company seeking to build a biomass energy plant on St. Croix by 2015. Biomass produces electricity by capturing and burning methane from decomposing biological material such as plants and manure.
While Tibbar plans to use giant king grass as its main source of fuel, the company is negotiating with VIWMA to divert some the waste away from landfills and into Tibbar’s generators.
Mary Adam Cornwall, VIWMA executive director, said the authority was considering granting Tibbar access to its food waste, fats, oils and greases. She said Tibbar was also seeking to obtain the authority’s bio-solids, the sludge left over after treating and separating wastewater.
All of these materials could be deposited into Tibbar’s anaerobic digesters to produce methane, which would then be burned to create electricity.
Tibbar is also interested in acquiring Waste Management’s wastewater for irrigation purposes. Cornwall explained that the treatment process for wastewater cleans out most of the impurities, but the effluent still could not be used as drinking water or to irrigate food crops.
Currently the authority dumps this effluent into the ocean, a practice environmentalists vehemently oppose. Cornwall said the VIWMA has been searching for alternative uses for the water.
Tibbar is proposing to build a pipeline between the authority’s wastewater plant on the south shore to Estate Lower Love, where Tibbar proposes to conduct the bulk of its giant king grass cultivation (about 700 acres).
The water would be a boon for the company, which will require enormous quantities of fresh water to support the agricultural side of its operation.
Attorney Kevin Rames, speaking on behalf of Tibbar at the event, said the company hoped to plant 1,500-2,000 acres of giant king grass across the island and that, once the biomass plant is operational, the company will need to harvest 600 tons of grass per day to keep their digesters fueled.
Rames said some of the irrigation water pumped to Estate Lower Love could be shipped to fields in other parts of the island but that Tibbar would attempt to utilize other water resources for those fields first.
Cornwall said the authority would charge Tibbar for the use of its wastewater, but would not specify how much because negotiations were ongoing. She added that she was not currently considering charging Tibbar for access to its other waste, however, because the authority would save money by not having to dispose of it.
Rames said Tibbar’s operation would also directly aid the Department of Agriculture and farmers across the island.
He said the company intends to clear clogged ponds to increase the supply of fresh water on the island. Specifically, the company has agreed to rehabilitate several ponds at the Agriculture Department headquarters that could hold up to 60 million gallons.
Rames said Tibbar also plans to supply local farmers with free fertilizer because the byproduct of the anaerobic digestion process is a nutrient-rich solid that can be easily spread over fields. The material will be used on Tibbar’s own fields first, but he said the remainder would be distributed to local farmers.
Likewise Tibbar says it intends to produce compost using green waste supplied by VIWMA and that the excess will also be available to farmers free of charge.
These plans are still only proposals, however. Tibbar still has many steps to go through before it’s ready for business.
Tibbar has not yet entered into a binding agreement with VIWMA to secure its waste and water, though Cornwall said negotiations were progressing.
The company also needs to secure land to build their biomass plant. Rames said Tibbar was negotiating with the V.I. Port Authority to secure a lease to a small parcel on the south shore just east of the Randall “Doc” James racetrack and just west of VIWMA’s water treatment plant.
Rames said Tibbar’s application would be discussed at VIPA’s next board meeting.
Most importantly, Tibbar must complete a power purchase agreement with the Water and Power Authority, an essential step before construction can begin.
Rames said that agreement was “within days” of being completed. Tibbar would sell electricity to WAPA for 23.5-25 cents per kilowatt-hour under the agreement, according to Tibbar representatives.
The plan was received well by the audience in attendance. Paul Chakroff, executive director of the St. Croix Environmental Association, spoke strongly in favor of putting VIWMA’s effluent to good use rather than dumping it into the ocean.
Some local farmers also spoke approvingly of Tibbar’s plans to avoid nonorganic fertilizers in its giant king grass cultivation.
Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen said local residents with idle land could help the project by leasing acreage to Tibbar for cultivation. He said his department had extended the property tax breaks enjoyed by farmers to any land being used to grow giant king grass.
