BASSETERRE, St. Kitts– The St. Kitts-Nevis government has announced plans for a geothermal project to push forward the twin-island Federation’s energy security agenda.
Environment and Climate Action Minister, Dr. Joyelle Clarke, says the energy and environment ministries partnered on the geothermal project.
“We are working together to create energy security for St. Kitts and Nevis and confirm our renewable energy mix, and I am very clear about that. We cannot transition to solar energy alone, we cannot transition to geothermal energy alone, but we must use a mix of renewable energy sources,” Clarke said.
“So, we are partnering to ensure that St. Kitts and Nevis can soon engage in its green transition away from fossil fuel. St. Kitts and Nevis have to be seen as one space when it comes to geothermal, and we are happy that we can partner with NEVLEC (Nevis Electricity Company) and SKELEC (St. Kitts Electricity Company).”
Clarke said that the government, which came to office in August this year, has since engaged the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the Barbados-based Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) and that representative of the two regional organizations are due here soon to meet with the Cabinet and relevant stakeholders.
Clarke said they will present “the renewable energy mix for St. Kitts and Nevis, as well as Sustainable Island State Initiative, which is Prime Minister (Dr. Terrance Drew’s) main thrust.”
She noted that the geothermal project with Nevis is significant for various reasons.
“Whatever resources are available in Nevis will be part of our Federal resources. We have to ensure that that partnership remains steady and that St. Kitts and Nevis is seen as one Federal state, one nation when it comes to geothermal. It will benefit not just St. Kitts and Nevis but the wider Caribbean, and it will be a critical part of our renewable energy mix,” said Clarke.
Energy Minister, Konris Maynard, said that the partnership would be fruitful.
“We are very pleased to be partnering in our thrust to bring a renewable energy sector to St. Kitts and Nevis, and that includes exploring the vast possibilities with geothermal. At this point, the thinking is that Nevis’ geothermal wells will have enough energy in the first instance to support not only Nevis but Nevis and St. Kitts,” said Maynard.
“And so, they are collaborating with SKELEC on how we are going to integrate both grids such that we now create one grid for the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis,” Maynard said, adding that when power is generated in Nevis, it can reach as far as St. Paul’s in St. Kitts and similarly if St. Kitts generates power from solar or wind, it can go Gingerland in Nevis, thus creating one grid.
He said the Federation is now in the “transitionary phase of moving from total dependence on fossil fuels to exploring all the different mixes of renewable energy.
“We want to be the leader in the Caribbean, and we have everything now at our doorsteps, including the resources… to collaborate in a unified way.”
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