By Robert Luckock
MARIGOT--Wind turbine projects for St. Martin in the past have been met with fierce opposition, not because St. Martin does not want to benefit from renewable energy sources, but because most people believe the topographical layout of St. Martin and proximity of wind turbines to residential areas is not conducive to such projects here.
The latest green energy producer to enter the scene is French company Valorem, a market leader with 15-years experience in the field. Its proposal to install a solar energy field in French Quarter and four 1.5 megawatt wind turbines at the eco-landfill in Grand Case has, according to the company?s exclusive Caribbean representative Lloyd Tackling, the best chance of succeeding because the turbines would be out of sight and out of ear shot.
Valorem?s activities are part of France?s objectives defined at the 2008 Environmental Summit to produce 23 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020 and to reduce green house gas emissions by 20 percent over the same period.
As a result of the summit, the Environmental Commission invited bids for projects producing a maximum of 20 megawatts of electricity through wind power with a deadline for submission of projects at the end of May 2011.
Unlike Europe and elsewhere, St. Martin lacks huge swathes of flat uninhabited land, and the locations chosen for the last projects ? Red Rock in French Cul-de-Sac in 2006, and most recently ecologically-sensitive Tintamarre Island ? were rejected by activists as being totally unsuitable. Cynics argued the projects were more about financial gain and less about environmental interests.
To recap, company Marju SAS in 2006 had planned to install three 91-metre high 800KW turbines on the summit of Red Rock but the project was blocked by three residents; Antoine Chapon, Eric Poulin, and Philippe Leger who argued the project was too close to a residential area and succeeded, on behalf of residents, in filing a court injunction to stall the project. With the subsequent appeals, the project has been stuck in the courts ever since.
Marju succeeded only in erecting three anemometer masts to measure wind speed and these were reportedly blown down later in a hurricane.
Earlier this year, Martinique based-company MG Energy proposed to install ten 1-megawatt wind turbines on Tintamarre Island. The proposal was given a favourable opinion for studies to go ahead by the Executive Council but a thumbs-down from R�serve Naturelle that stated there would be no way the company could legally cross the protected Conservatoire du Littoral coastline of the island to transfer the energy to the mainland.
Objections have been filed about this project, not least because of the negative impact on the charter boat business and tourism. The status of the project is still unknown.
According to Tackling, Valorem?s project for the eco-landfill has received the green light from the Collectivit�, the Chamber of Commerce, and the civil aviation authority but has still to receive an answer from the Pr�fet.
The turbines would be placed at the front of the landfill, and as part of the project to control pollution to coral and marine life toxic run-off from the landfill would be collected and filtered before being returned to the ocean as clean water.
?With just four turbines the project is small because that is what we have established EDF (El�ctricit� de France) needs,? explains Tackling. ?There?s no sense to produce more electricity than is needed. It is always possible to expand later if necessary.?
Small is an understatement. Each mast of the turbine is 95-metres high. It is shipped in sections and Tackling envisages all the components would be transported by barge to the landfill. A helicopter would also be used in the assembly process.
In case of hurricanes each turbine can be lowered hydraulically and set into a cradle, the procedure taking 45 minutes to lower and 45 minutes to raise the mast again. Energy is stored in batteries and transferred underground to the nearest EDF grid.
?Realistically this project is a year away but it is also quite advanced as far as the studies and negotiations are concerned,? he said. ?All being well, we could see the foundations being laid quite soon.?
One more hurdle to overcome is obtaining formal approval from Soci�t� V�rd�, the company charged with the day-to-day management of the landfill. Tackling noted V�rd� has already expressed interest.
Switching gears, Tackling talks enthusiastically about the French Quarter solar-field project and believes this will materialise before the wind turbines.
?We have got a long lease promise in writing on a 12-acre plot of land close to the Dutch side border in French Quarter,? he discloses. ?This is where the panels will be installed. Each panel has a guarantee for 25 years and is on a self tracking system for optimum solar capture. It?s a project that will produce 3.5 megawatts of electricity. It?s getting a lot of traction right now because of the quicker access to the terrain. The solar field could be in place by April or May next year.?
Tackling added that the solar field is an ideal opportunity for Dutch side provider GEBE to tie into the grid of this project.
Valorem is currently negotiating with Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire to install 30 wind turbines on each island, and in the Dominican Republic too. Nineteen wind turbines will be installed in Guadeloupe.
?The Dominican Republic just received an Inter Development Bank (IDB) loan for 78.3 million US dollars to create renewable energy and their government has asked Valorem for advice on developing this energy,? Tackling noted. ?Clean renewable energy is something all governments need to be considering now with the soaring costs of fuel worldwide.?
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