The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor SOME 75 persons will be employed at peak construction on Baha Mar's $100 million Seawater District Cooling (SDC) plant, Tribune Business was told yesterday, with building work set to start in "early summer" 2012 and be completed in 12 months. Jeremy Feakins, chairman and chief executive of Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTEC), which will operate the plant supplying chilled water for Baha Mar's air conditioning needs, said the company was working with the developer and the Government to obtain all the relevant permits for the project. "In terms of breaking ground, it's the early part of the summer when we anticipate that," he disclosed to Tribune Business. "It's all going forward and all moving nicely. There are no show-stoppers at the moment. "We are a small part of a very major construction, although probably one of the most important because you can't do much without energy." OTEC has hired US-based DCO Energy to act as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the $100 million project, which will save Baha Mar up to 90 per cent of the energy costs associated with using traditional power sources to meet air conditioning needs. Mr Feakins said OTEC and its contractor were busy scheduling engineers and vendors, and meeting executives from Baha Mar and its major contractor, China State Construction, to ensure the SDC project fitted in with the overall work pattern for the $2.6 billion Cable Beach redevelopment. And OTEC was still working with the Government to obtain some of the permits, authorisations and approvals it required for the project. "There's a number of permits - construction permits, environmental permits," Mr Feakins told Tribune Business. "We had to complete a very detailed Environmental Impact Assessment. That's been completed and submitted to the BEST Commission for their review." Praising the co-operation OTEC had received from both the Baha Mar and government sides, Mr Feakins said the latter and the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) were likely keen to see its SDC project proceed because it would "reduce the power required" from the Corporation. As a result, it would "reduce the power challenges the Bahamas is currently having". The 30-year energy services agreement between OTEC and Baha Mar is expected to reduce the latter's energy consumption by 58,000 barrels of oil, equivalent to 26,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Revenue accruing from Baha Mar's take-off of chilled water is estimated to be about $500 million. Disclosing that construction employment at its peak would be 75 workers, Mr Feakins said the estimated build-out time for the SDC plant is 12 months. "We have to be ready by the back end of 2012," he told Tribune Business. "The air conditioning has to be operational for 12 months prior to the opening date for Baha Mar, and that's because of all the concrete and interior decorating work that has to be done. "We're looking at a year's construction for the SDC plant. Once we finish the construction, we will have a trial and testing period for a few months to make sure things are working, and can tweak anything we are not happy with." Mr Feakins described the Baha Mar SDC project as "the first of its kind in the world" because it was using seawater, as opposed to the lake water employed by existing plants. And, in comparison to the 400 tonne SDC plant at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Baha Mar's was 12,000 tonnes, "so it's huge". The Baha Mar SDC plant will supply chilled water from a depth of more than 3,600 feet in the Atlantic Ocean, just off New Providence's coast. "This project is groundbreaking for a number of reasons, from a system standpoint, an environmental standpoint, an economic standpoint, and we would like to thank Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation and Baha Mar for this opportunity" said Frank DiCola, president and chief executive of DCO Energy. "DCO Energy, with myriad projects in the US and abroad, is truly an international leader in clean energy solutions."