US company proposes multimillion-dollar waste to renewable energy project

THE Hoskinson Group, a leading United States company involved in the conversion of waste to energy, has held discussions this week with the Guyana Government and private sector officials about developing a waste to energy project here.

According to a release, the company whose technology is in use in several waste to energy operations in the United States, Canada and other countries, is in the process of conducting a feasibility study which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, following which a detailed proposal will be submitted to the Guyana Government for consideration.

Hoskinson’s Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Gustavo Solorzano, accompanied by its representative for Guyana, Wesley Kirton, this week held a series of fact-finding meetings with several Government agencies including Go-Invest, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the Ministry of Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Mayor & City Council of Georgetown. They also held meetings with Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, and US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch.

In addition, the team toured the Haags Bosch Landfill at Eccles and the operations of Puran Brothers Inc. on the West Bank of Demerara where discussions were held with officials about the volume of waste collected and methods of collection and disposal of various categories of waste.

Hoskinson is proposing to invest entirely in the project without any requirement of financial investment on the part of the government. The sustained viability of the proposed multi-million US dollar project is dependent on the successful negotiation of a power purchase agreement between the company and GPL as well as a guaranteed supply of a specific volume of waste on a daily basis to the conversion plant.

“We are very encouraged by the initial response of all the stakeholders and now have a basis for moving forward with a detailed proposal for consideration by the Guyana Government,” said Solorzano.

He adds that this project would be a transformational one in terms of the way Guyana handles its waste disposal resulting in significant environmental benefits and financial savings for the country.

“Given Guyana’s projected development in the near and long-term, the volume of waste is expected to quadruple and this project will provide for tremendous benefits in relation to ensuring clean communities and the reduction in contamination of ground water and air that emanate from landfill operations quite often, resulting in illnesses among the population including cancer,” he pointed out.