In-keeping with its mission to reduce waste and the island’s dependence on fossil fuels, the Government of Saint Lucia will soon issue a Request for Proposals from energy companies for converting waste matter into energy.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Minister for Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology, Hon. Dr. James Fletcher explained that the waste-to-energy initiative will lengthen the lifespan of the existing landfills, and produce a small amount of fuel.

“We currently operate two sanitary landfills—one at Deglos and the other in Vieux Fort, and these have a finite lifespan,” Dr. Fletcher said. “We have only 238 square miles available to us. When we decommission those two, there aren’t very many places available to convert to sanitary landfills, so we really need to stretch the lifespan of those landfills as much as possible.

"But even more importantly, we need to have a much better plan for handling waste on this island. We need to find ways to recycle that waste or to convert that waste into something of economic value.”

The waste-to-energy initiative will allow the conversion of landfill waste into energy that can be fed into the grid to supplement the use of diesel. Although the energy generation may be modest—between two to three megawatts, Dr. Fletcher said—from a solid waste perspective it will result in a significant reduction of waste at the landfills.

To this end, the government has sought assistance from the Carbon War Room, an independent nonprofit that accelerates the adoption of business solutions to reduce carbon emissions and advance a low-carbon economy.

“We are excited to be working with the Government of Saint Lucia and LUCELEC under the ten island challenge,” said Justin Locke, Energy Specialist with the Carbon War Room. “For our part, we are seeking qualifications from reliable firms who have the financial capacity, proven experience and proven technology to operate within the volume and waste composition that exists in Saint Lucia. We want to ensure that the government only gets qualified bidders who have proven experience in this area.”

The government’s energy program is not limited to the conversion of waste to energy.

Sylvester Clauzel, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Sustainable Development said it also includes ensuring energy efficiency by retrofitting buildings for the use of energy-saving devices; updating legislation to encourage the use of hybrid vehicles; and undertaking infrastructural work to develop the island’s energy resources.

The Saint Lucia Government has made a commitment to replace the island’s dependence on fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy by 35 percent, by the year 2020.