Study recommends closure of Punta Catalina due to serious impacts

[Dolores]

The Institute of Lawyers for the Protection of the Environment, the Coalition for the Defense of Health and the Environment of the Province of Peravia and the Committee for the Fight against Climate Change, with the counsel of five foreign entities, are calling for the shutdown of the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTPC). The entities say the coal-fired plant is causing serious environmental damages estimated at US$7.5 million a year.

The recently released Study on the Contamination of the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant points to the negative impacts of contamination by gases, micro-particles and waste from the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant, CTPC. The contamination is said to cover a large part of the Dominican territory, all the way to Haiti and reach the eastern coast of Cuba and Jamaica. The aerial emissions of gases and micro-particles...

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[drstock]

That could have been anticipated when the project was started. It never made sense to me to build a coal-fired power station when other countries were phasing them out. We can only guess why the government decided to go ahead with this, but I can have a good guess.

 

[playacaribe2]

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Shut it down? In a country that has difficulty keeping the lights on in normal times. The plant has only been running for a little over two years

First, it should never have been built for coal........but there is likely a reason (money/corruption/both) that it was constructed that way.

Second, converting it to LNG should be on the table. Much cleaner for the environment than coal. Of course that will likely involve the usual contracts/propinas awarded to politicos, their family or friends, and or the outright bribes from outside contractors..........ala Odebrecht.

And so it goes.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[Kipling333]

There are hundreds of coal fired power stations around the world , many very old and still in operation but this one is new and was built to modern specifications so that gases into the atmosphere are kept to a minimum. It uses what is called clean coal, what ever that may mean but I guess that the coal has much less impurities than before. The equipment was state of the art from the most reputable companies in the USA.It is very easy to look back and say that this and that should have been done but at the time this plant was commissioned, coal was much cheaper and oil prices were sky high and the DR very poor. The cheap oil arrangement with Venezuela finished with the death of Chavez. The grubby lawyers who won so much money from the Odebrecht case have now got their paws out for more . Fat chance they have of closing this plant down!!

 

[JD Jones]

Shut it down? In a country that has difficulty keeping the lights on in normal times. The plant has only been running for a little over two years

First, it should never have been built for coal........but there is likely a reason (money/corruption/both) that it was constructed that way.

Second, converting it to LNG should be on the table. Much cleaner for the environment than coal. Of course that will likely involve the usual contracts/propinas awarded to politicos, their family or friends, and or the outright bribes from outside contractors..........ala Odebrecht.

And so it goes.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

There has been talk of that already, and I'd bet that's what will eventually happen.

 

[MariaRubia]

That could have been anticipated when the project was started. It never made sense to me to build a coal-fired power station when other countries were phasing them out. We can only guess why the government decided to go ahead with this, but I can have a good guess.

I heard it was built on land owned by a certain powerful family and that the lease tied the government into ridiculously high payments for an eternity. Way over the actual value of the land.

 

[JD Jones]

I heard it was built on land owned by a certain powerful family and that the lease tied the government into ridiculously high payments for an eternity. Way over the actual value of the land.

A certain powerful family that bought the land just before the govt. announced it would build the plants there. And yes, ridiculously high payments but willing to sell it to the govt. "for the right price"

 

[AlterEgo]

A certain powerful family that bought the land just before the govt. announced it would build the plants there. And yes, ridiculously high payments but willing to sell it to the govt. "for the right price"

Am I the only one who doesn’t know who that family is? Is it a secret?

 

[JD Jones]

The Vicini family. I should clarify - I think they ended up selling it to EDESUR a year ago or so.

CDEEE negocia con Vicini si compra terrenos Punta Catalina

“Han expresado su disposición de hacerlo”, respondió ante una pregunta de si los propietarios estarían en la disposición de cederlos al Estado dominicano.

hoy.com.do

 

[MariaRubia]

The Vicini family. I should clarify - I think they ended up selling it to EDESUR a year ago or so.

CDEEE negocia con Vicini si compra terrenos Punta Catalina

“Han expresado su disposición de hacerlo”, respondió ante una pregunta de si los propietarios estarían en la disposición de cederlos al Estado dominicano.

hoy.com.do

Who else. All roads seem to lead to them or the Rainieris.

 

[MariaRubia]

A certain powerful family that bought the land just before the govt. announced it would build the plants there. And yes, ridiculously high payments but willing to sell it to the govt. "for the right price"

What a coincidence eh? They just happened to buy that land for pennies and then the government just happened to decide that this was the only place they could build a new massive power station and as a result they would have to pay whatever the landowner wanted for the land, which is way more than it would otherwise be worth. If only we could all have such strokes of luck.

 

[Kipling333]

Just as well the defamation laws are not used for internet postings !!! or maybe they are .

 

[JD Jones]

Just as well the defamation laws are not used for internet postings !!! or maybe they are .

What defamation? No defamation going on there, it is well known information and ran it's course through the local news websites when it happened.

Where do you think I got the information?

They are very shrewd business people.

 

[JD Jones]

Not only did they sell the land to the govt. for Punta Catalina, but they financed the loan for the govt to buy it with their own bank:

More bad news from power plant of scandal

<p>Santo Domingo.- Even if the Punta Catalina Power Plant shuts down or fails, the Government must pay what the contract stipulates, said economist Apolinar Veloz on Mon., referring to the debts contracted to build the facility. “The contract stipulates that if at any time the Government leaves...

dominicantoday.com

 

[playacaribe2]

Not only did they sell the land to the govt. for Punta Catalina, but they financed the loan for the govt to buy it with their own bank:

More bad news from power plant of scandal

<p>Santo Domingo.- Even if the Punta Catalina Power Plant shuts down or fails, the Government must pay what the contract stipulates, said economist Apolinar Veloz on Mon., referring to the debts contracted to build the facility. “The contract stipulates that if at any time the Government leaves...

dominicantoday.com

Unfortunately, it is an accepted way of life in the DR. And this is but one example;

Punta Catalina: Power and corruption in the Dominican Republic - Blog

The story of the Punta Catalina power plant and Odebrecht’s bribery scheme in Dominican Republic underscores how bribery by multinational corporations abroad distorts international trade and undermines the integrity of politics in the importing country.

www.transparency.org

One can only wonder how much more economically dynamic the country could be if corruption could only be reigned in by half. The DR could be a real powerhouse in the Caribbean............but for...........


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[chico bill]

That could have been anticipated when the project was started. It never made sense to me to build a coal-fired power station when other countries were phasing them out. We can only guess why the government decided to go ahead with this, but I can have a good guess.

Well would you think diesel is better. DR doesn't have natural gas, and Windmills and Solar Panels are virtue signaling energy dreams

 

[Big]

Big business and people with money are always the boogeyman. No one blames a drunk homeless bum for their position in life. The more wealth a business or person obtains the more disdain they receive. Never mind the fact that they create countless jobs, pay massive amounts of taxes and create countless opportunities.

 

[PJT]

That could have been anticipated when the project was started. It never made sense to me to build a coal-fired power station when other countries were phasing them out. We can only guess why the government decided to go ahead with this, but I can have a good guess.

A good debatable guess why it went coal fired was because there were mischievous powerful interests who would make money from heavy maintenance services, the sale of coal, movement of coal, storage of coal, and all aspects of the disposal of coal waste. Gas fired plants have less mischievous money making options.

Regards,

PJT

Big business and people with money are always the boogeyman. No one blames a drunk homeless bum for their position in life. The more wealth a business or person obtains the more disdain they receive. Never mind the fact that they create countless jobs, pay massive amounts of taxes and create countless opportunities.

Big, guess you are not aware of the contaminated history of this plant, otherwise you would not have made your statement. There was so much corruption involved with the planning, poor construction, and chickenshit operation of the facility. It is about corrupt people having countless opportunities to make money illegally, avoiding taxes, creating shell companies, nepotism, on, on, and on.

Regards,

PJT

Big business and people with money are always the boogeyman. No one blames a drunk homeless bum for their position in life. The more wealth a business or person obtains the more disdain they receive. Never mind the fact that they create countless jobs, pay massive amounts of taxes and create countless opportunities.

Big, guess you are not aware of the contaminated history of this plant, otherwise you may not have made your statement. There was so much corruption involved with planning, poor design, poor construction, and chickenshit operation of the facility. It is about corrupt people having countless opportunities to make money illegally, avoiding taxes, creating shell companies, nepotism, on, on, and on.

Regards,

PJT

 

[Big]

A good debatable guess why it went coal fired was because there were mischievous powerful interests who would make money from heavy maintenance services, the sale of coal, movement of coal, storage of coal, and all aspects of the disposal of coal waste. Gas fired plants have less mischievous money making options.

Regards,

PJT

Big, guess you are not aware of the contaminated history of this plant, otherwise you would not have made your statement. There was so much corruption involved with the planning, poor construction, and chickenshit operation of the facility. It is about corrupt people having countless opportunities to make money illegally, avoiding taxes, creating shell companies, nepotism, on, on, and on.

Regards,

PJT

Big, guess you are not aware of the contaminated history of this plant, otherwise you may not have made your statement. There was so much corruption involved with planning, poor design, poor construction, and chickenshit operation of the facility. It is about corrupt people having countless opportunities to make money illegally, avoiding taxes, creating shell companies, nepotism, on, on, and on.

Regards,

PJT

I am aware! It is a large business conglomerate, so they must be doing something illegal or underhanded. Have you ever heard of someone falling down on a back country road and starting a lawsuit against the farmer. It's always on the sidewalk in front of a large successful business.

 

[MariaRubia]

Big business and people with money are always the boogeyman. No one blames a drunk homeless bum for their position in life. The more wealth a business or person obtains the more disdain they receive. Never mind the fact that they create countless jobs, pay massive amounts of taxes and create countless opportunities.

Yes it is true that the Vicinis are shrews businesspeople and that they also do a lot of good with their money.