The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission have released information that they are partnering with the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to jointly host a Regional Geothermal Forum under the theme: ‘Opportunities and Synergies for Collaboration’.
It is welcomed news that Minister of Communications and Works Paul Lewis of Montserrat who is well advanced in geothermal exploration will participate at that forum which will be held in Basseterre from May 10-12, 2016.
Geothermal energy through scientific evidence has emerged as a priority within the Eastern Caribbean States namely Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Hence the forum comes at a period of increased interest and activity with respect to geothermal energy development within the CARICOM Region.
The meeting, which organisers welcome as timely, is aimed at high level officials from relevant Ministries and Government Agencies, engaged in the development of geothermal projects within the resource-rich countries of the OECS. Representatives of multilateral institutions, international development partners and international financing institutions, as well as private sector developers and investors, will also be present.
The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (REETA) Project, the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, as well as, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), through the Technical Cooperation on Sustainable Energy Deployment in the Caribbean are all supporting this initiative.
In Montserrat, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), after drilling two exploratory wells at an initial ‘questionable’ cost of approved funds totalling eight and a half million pounds (£8.5), approximately $36.04 million, (as members of a rejected energy committee were at the time seeking to have access to the documents involved,) a “Third well will be drilled to a depth of between 2,000 and 2,500 Meters. The target area is sited on (the base!) of St. George’s Hill, just inside Zone V. It is proposed that this area has both hot fluid and locally high permeability.
“Two previous wells that were successfully drilled in 2013/2014 under Phase 1 and 2 which cover the exploratory drilling for the 3rd well will help to ascertain a suitable configuration for a geothermal plant.”
The Department for International Development has allocated $17.6 million for this phase, which is intended to increase the potential yield of this green energy from 2MW to 5MW. The hope was that drilling would have commenced in early 2016.
