The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An Israeli-based energy provider yesterday expressed unhappiness over the information “vacuum” that had emerged since it presented a multi-million dollar power plant solution to the Government six months ago.

Joshoua Waldhorn, principal in W. J. Technologies, which he said offered the Bahamas a ‘scalable’ power plant solution using “aerodynamic” fuels developed from biomass, professed ignorance of the tender process subsequently initiated over the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC).

Disclosing that W. J’s proposal was designed to slash power generation costs by close to 50 per cent, Mr Waldhorn said it would have sold energy to BEC at a price of around $0.22 per kilowatt hour (KWh).

“My son was invited by the Bahamian government six months ago, and we submitted a full offer,” he told Tribune Business.

“We offered to start building a power plant of any size within two years. They [the Government] only needed to commit to purchasing electricity for 20 years through a power purchase agreement, and the price would be stable for a number of years.”

Mr Waldhorn said W. J. Technologies was introduced to the Bahamas and its government by Dr Myles Munroe, and he added: “Through him we met the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Environment, and everybody loved it. We gave a full offer, but since then there’s been a vacuum.

“We offered to build a chemical plant there, which would be super-clean for the environment. The Bahamas would have been able to provide electricity to other islands in the Caribbean and elsewhere.

“The response was really hallelujah, hallelujah, but since then I don’t know what happened. Advise me. Tell me what’s going on. I’d be very happy to know. We are here and ready to solve, We are able to provide the best price and best solution,”

In fairness to the Government, the BEC Request for Proposal (RFP) was widely publicised for all to see, so it is surprising that W. J. Technologies missed it. Mr Waldhorn expressed surprise when told of its existence by this newspaper.

Still, it is not the first to express concern over how the Bahamian energy reform process has been handled. Other companies, which submitted renewable and conventional power proposals before the Government decided to go to public tender, have privately expressed disquiet to Tribune Business that, after putting in so much time, effort and money, they had to pay $25,000 to get a copy of the RFP which, in many instances, set criteria that their offers could not match.

It is likely that the W. J. Technologies bid may have fallen into this category, given the relatively ‘unique’ - and untried - fuel source it was proposing to use.

And both Dr Myles Munroe and attorney Merrit Storr, who were copied in on W. J. Technologies’ e-mails sent to Tribune Business, were said to be off-island yesterday and did not respond to this newspaper’s request for comment.

W. J. Technologies’ proposal involved constructing a power plant with capacity ranging from 20 Megawatts (MW) to 500 MW, under a build/own/operate arrangement and power purchase agreement of 20-25 years.

Mr Waldhorn said that with each 1 MW being equivalent to $1 million, the company’s investment in the Bahamas could have reached to $500 million depending on the Government’s needs.

Suggesting that W. J. Technologies’ proposal could have created “hundreds of jobs” in the Bahamas, Mr Waldhorn said: “Not everyone can work in tourism.”

He added that the company would have invested $50-$60 million in the chemical plant that would have produced the “aerodynamic” power plant fuel, which contains all the required oxygen.

Mr Waldhorn produced documents showing W. J. Technologies was talking to the Israel Electric Corporation about pilot power plant projects, and interest had been shown from Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

W. J. Technologies said its engines were much cleaner, and 43 per cent more efficient, that their diesel counterparts. Fuel costs were also 25 per cent less.

“I can supply you with cheaper energy for farming, and industry and supply you with cheaper water,” Mr Waldhorn said.

“Eighty per cent of the cost is energy. Reduce that by 50 per cent and you have cheaper water for agriculture and food.”