St. Lucia's minister of communications, works, transport and public utilities is going to recommend his country use Elementa Group technology from Sault Ste. Marie.
Minister Guy Joseph (shown) says the process will divert much of the independent Caribbean island nation's solid waste from its landfills while generating seven megawatts of renewable energy.
Elementa turns trash into synthetic gas to run generators.
Before signing a memorandum of understanding with Elementa Group and Island Green Energy at Sault Ste. Marie City Hall yesterday, Joseph talked about what the Elementa process will mean to St. Lucia.
Most of St. Lucia's electricity (about 57 megawatts) comes from fossil fuel-powered generators.
This gives the country a larger-than-acceptable carbon footprint and it leaves the economy vulnerable to fluctuating oil prices, said Joseph.
He also hopes St. Lucia will be expanding partnerships with the City of Sault Ste. Marie.
For Elementa Group, this agreement is the first of many to come.
Other Caribbean islands, Spain, Australia and some African nations may also be using the Elementa process in the near future,
News releases from the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation and Elementa Group Inc. follow.
************************* St. Lucian minister inks agreement with Sault waste-to-energy company
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - The Government of St. Lucia recently signed an agreement with IGE Island Green Energy, which is in partnership with the Elementa Group, a Sault Ste. Marie-based energy company with a cutting-edge technology that converts household garbage into clean energy.
Guy Joseph, Minister of Communications, Works, Transport & Public Utilities for the Caribbean nation, was in the Sault today to approve the deal, tour Elementa’s pilot plant at the city landfill site, and meet with company and municipal representatives.
The Elementa process is as ingenious as it is environmentally friendly.
The company’s patented steam reformation technology converts solid waste into a clean, synthetic gas - similar to natural gas - which can be used for power generation.
It’s a non-incineration process in an oxygen-free environment, meaning there are no greenhouse gases produced.
Not only does the technology have the potential to solve the ever-piling global problem of garbage, it can also significantly reduce the emission of methane gas at landfills.
“Methane is one of the worst contributors to global warming because it is more than 20 times as dangerous as CO2 regarding greenhouse gas effects,” said Jayson Zwierschke, president & CEO of Elementa Group Inc.
With so many benefits, countries around the world are showing great interest in the Elementa Group.
Following the recent agreement with St. Lucia, the nation is expected to build the first full-scale waste-to-energy plant in the Caribbean, which will have the capacity to process the majority of household and industrial waste on the island.
Meanwhile, Elementa’s demonstration facility is currently operating in Sault Ste. Marie, and the company is building a full-scale commercial plant here beginning this fall.
“The fact that the pilot plant is in the Sault, and that the process - in many ways - got its start here, speaks to the vision of our community,” said Dave Murphy, acting CEO of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp., which has been working with Elementa Group for a number of years now. “Along with the many other green alternative energy companies in our community, we’re justifying our claim of being the Alternative Energy Capital of North America.”
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************************* St. Lucia to be the first Caribbean nation to support renewable energy technology from Ontario
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - On October 7, 2010, Island Green Energy (IGE) with their technology partner Elementa Group Inc., signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of St. Lucia to build the first non-incineration waste-to-energy facility which will process the island’s municipal solid waste.
This facility will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 70,000 tonnes annually and produce power for 6,000 homes.
Using a patented process developed by Elementa Group Inc., an international leader in waste conversion technology based in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the project will divert over 45,000 tonnes of municipal and industrial solid waste a year from St. Lucia’s two landfills, while generating an estimated seven megawatts of green electricity.
The United Nation’s has initiated the Island Sustainability Growth Plan which requires the island nations to improve their existing infrastructures with regards to sustainable development.
The project with IGE and Elementa will reduce the island’s carbon footprint by offsetting its dependency on fossil fuels as well as decreasing landfill methane emissions.
“Methane is one of the worst contributors to global warming because it is more than 20 times as dangerous as CO2 regarding greenhouse gas effects,” said Jayson Zwierschke, president & CEO of Elementa Group Inc.
Zwierschke went on to say: “The EU has identified the elimination of landfills as the single largest potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” (European Commission (2000). EU policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Towards a European Climate Change Programme (ECCP). COM (2000) 88 Brussels.)
Elementa has been operating its technology since 2007 at its pilot plant in Sault Ste. Marie.
Scientific third party reviews have confirmed that the plant has exceeded expectations and significantly outperformed all national and international air emission standards.
Along with Elementa’s technology, the City of Sault Ste. Marie has a number of renewable energy projects, confirming their place as the Alternative Energy Capital of the North America.
St. Lucian Minister Guy E. Joseph is currently visiting Sault Ste. Marie and Elementa’s pilot plant to personally review the necessary approval and permitting processes required in Ontario before returning to St. Lucia to present his favourable findings to the Prime Minister of St. Lucia.
The agreement between IGE, Elementa and St. Lucia confirms St. Lucia’s leadership posture to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as well as the UN’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals which are focused on social and environmental sustainability and combating global warming in the Caribbean.
About the process
Elementa Group Inc.’s steam reformation process uses a mature technology in a patented process to convert carbon-based materials into a green natural gas replacement (syngas).
The process uses an oxygen deprived combustion-free environment, involving absolutely no incineration.
The syngas is then used in a combined cycle electrical energy generation system to produce electricity.
Elementa's technology
- Produces no toxic dioxins and furans associated with incineration
- Is completely scalable
- Creates distributed, base-load power
- Significantly reduces greenhouse gases
- Converts 98 percent of the waste volume leaving 2 percent as an inert aggregate
- Supports the increasing public interest in environmental sustainability.
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