A Senator has hit back at “extremely idealistic” promises from a sustainable energy group claiming it can provide an alternate waste disposal method for the Island.Junior Minister for Public Works Cromwell Shakir said pledges made by Bermuda Environmental Energy Sustainable Group (BEESG) to replace the Tynes Bay Waste-to-Energy facility needed to be “vetted seriously” by the Ministry before any decision was made.BEESG, run by Bermudian entrepreneur Oliver Binns, has put forward proposals to Government to build a generation plant on the site of Tynes Bay.Mr Binns said the facility would be capable of producing 18 to 20 Megawatts of electricity per day- which is enough to power thousands of homes.Sen Shakir said technical officers from the Ministry met with representatives from BEESG on April 20 to investigate those claims and learn about the proposed process.“BEESG, however, indicated that they were unable to provide substantial information to support their claims, or provide any concrete methodology of how they would achieve their goal until an initial study was performed,” he said.“BEESG advised that to perform such a study, a Memorandum of Understanding would have to be signed between them and the Bermuda Government.”Sen Shakir said the Memorandum “required substantial Government commitments”, including the provision of all waste generated on the Island for the next 50 years and five additional acres of land.He said Government couldn’t commit to such terms without knowing the full details of the project and having solid proof BEESG could deliver on its commitments.“The Ministry therefore did not sign the Memorandum of Understanding, but did offer the full co-operation and sharing of information by its technical officers in order for BEESG to obtain all information required to provide a comprehensive proposal to Government.”Sen Shakir said the Ministry was considering a proposed Non-Disclosure Agreement so any sensitive information released by BEESG would remain confidential.But he claimed the company was “more insistent on signing an MOU before it will provide any detailed information needed for the Ministry to fully evaluate the system being proposed”.“While the Ministry will always remain open to new ideas and technology, we require the information to evaluate these ideas for accuracy, effectiveness and most importantly, suitability in Bermuda, before long term commitments, such as those being asked by BEESG, are made.”He said Government had already invested $25 million into the refurbishment of the Tynes Bay facility, which would allow the plant to operate for the next decade or so.“To discard such an investment is simply not a wise use of the taxpayers’ money. We would recommend the BEESG, or any entity submitting extraordinary proposals, must come with the hard evidence to satisfy the Government before any decision to replace our current system will be considered.“To choose the wrong system would mean jeopardising the long term sustainability of our Island’s waste management infrastructure and that is a risk the Government certainly will not take,” he said.