CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission is providing technical assistance to the St. Lucia government to support the development of drafting instructions for a Geothermal Energy Development Bill.
The assistance is being provided through the OECS Geothermal Energy Capacity Building for Utilisation, Investment and Local Development (GEOBUILD) Programme under the Renewable Energy Sector Development Project (RESDP)
The consultancy, funded by the GEOBUILD Programme, is being executed by a joint venture between the Florida-based Partnerships International, Inc., and Washington-based Arthur John Armstrong, PC, which has been engaged to assist the island in developing a modern legislative framework to guide the exploration, development, and utilisation of the country’s geothermal resources.
The St. Lucia government is implementing the RESDP with financing support from the World Bank Group. However, the funding for this technical assistance comes from the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the European Union Caribbean Investment Facility (EU-CIF).
The GEOBUILD Programme aims to build capacity to advance geothermal exploration and strengthen OECS Member States’ transition toward a more sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy sector.
As part of this assignment, members of the consultancy team travelled to St. Lucia recently to participate in stakeholder engagement activities organised by the RESDP. Two institutional stakeholder meetings were convened to provide updates on the geothermal exploration programme and to solicit feedback on policy and regulatory considerations for the proposed legislation.
“During the meetings, the consultancy team outlined the methodology being used to prepare the drafting instructions for the proposed geothermal legislation. The framework is intended to align with St. Lucia’s national energy goals while incorporating international best practices and lessons learned from geothermal development programmes worldwide and within the Caribbean region.”
The Commission said that discussions focused on several key policy considerations, including ownership and management of geothermal resources, investment and financing models, regulatory oversight, and opportunities for both electricity generation and the direct use of geothermal energy in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and industry.
Participants also explored how the legislative framework could support the country’s long-term goals of reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, strengthening energy security, and stabilising electricity prices.
Project Manager for the OECS GEOBUILD Programme, Dr. Ernie Stapleton, said the technical consultants are taking a holistic approach to geothermal development in St. Lucia, looking not only at the electricity generation potential but also at the wider opportunities for direct uses of the geothermal resource.
“These applications can support sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and industry, creating additional economic benefits for local communities while strengthening the country’s overall energy transition,” said Stapleton.
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