Tibbar Energy presented their 7MW Biogas Project at a CZM (Coastal Zone Management) Public Hearing on February 27th requesting a CZM permit.
The presentation was made by CEO Ms. Tania Tomyn who reported, "The public support was overwhelming from local residents and businesses. The island of St. Croix is about to see the first project of its kind with Tibbar’s anaerobic digestion facility. We will produce lower cost, clean renewable power, create jobs, and develop a local organic fertilizer source that will be offered to local farmers. We will develop a 1,600 acre energy crop farming operation on the island using mainly Giant King Grass and some native local grasses, and we will use a treated effluent stream from Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority that is currently secondarily treated and discharged to the ocean for irrigation on half of our farms."
Tomyn continued, "Tibbar will also donate 1,000 round bales of hay to the Department of Agriculture for small farmer’s livestock. Giant King Grass has grown extremely well on the island of St. Croix since we planted the first nursery 19 months ago."
The CZM Committee has 30 days to approve Tibbar’s permit application. Tibbar has all other permits, including Air, Earth Change, Pipelines, and Electrical duct, submitted, deemed complete and working through the process.
Last July 2013, Tibbar executed with WAPA (the local Government owned utility) a 25 year Power Purchase Agreement with 5 year option for $0.245/kwh and at the same time executed an interconnection agreement. The entire project is carbon neutral and will be the first fossil fuel independent base load power project on St. Croix.
"In addition to Tibbar’s power production, we have added to our design a process that will allow Tibbar to produce hundreds of tons of quality organic fertilizer a year," Ms. Tomyn said. "After our crops receive what they need and we have given all the fertilizer we can away to small farmers on the island of St. Croix, we will have an excess that we will export. It’s a win-win with a perfect harmony of environmental and economic benefits"
VIASPACE CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen stated, "We congratulate Tibbar on their progress, and we fully support their activities. Last year, Professor Mary Nikola from the Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences contacted me about a potential field trip for her class to visit the renewable energy project in St. Croix. Tibbar agreed and the class visited in January."
VIASPACE Board Chairman, Dr. Kevin Schewe, also commented, "We are very excited about Tibbar’s continuing progress and show of public and local government support on St. Croix to create base load, 24/7 electricity using Giant King Grass as a continuously renewable biomass platform for anaerobic digestion power production.
The byproduct of quality organic fertilizer makes this process an even larger environmental leap ahead of fossil fuel power generation. It is only a matter of time that more tropical islands and island nations (Caribbean and South Pacific) realize the environmental and economic benefits of using Giant King Grass as their continuously renewable, green energy, biomass platform. Finally, the shareholders should be encouraged that its 25-year license fee revenue stream from using Giant King Grass in St. Croix is moving closer toward realization.
