CARICOM and St. Kitts and Nevis have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for US$38,000 to finance technical assistance for Nevis’s geothermal project. This would allow the Nevis Island Administration to develop their geothermal resources and have a plant in operation by 2010.

Energy Minister Asim Martin said that the Nevis Island Administration would be provided with technical advice regarding the most appropriate and efficient use of its geothermal resources, evaluate all safety and environmental documents with regard to compliance with geothermal regulations, and review technical reports required by developers during project developments. Joseph Williams, the Program Manager for Energy at the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat, explained that this was one of the activities of the Caribbean Renewal Energy Development Program and that, while it was being executed by the CARICOM Secretariat, the funding was implemented through the United Nations Development Program.

Nevis’ goals are to enhance the development of renewable energy in the region and to lead the way by serving as an example for other territories that have geothermal resources. Dominica has also been at the forefront of geothermal energy projects and last year signed agreements with Guadeloupe and Martinique for sharing these resources. Guyana has been considering various renewable energy options, such as wind energy, hydroelectric power, and bio-fuel projects.

Caribbean legislators met on April 29^th to discuss renewable energy and climate change in a conference on Climate Change and Energy Access. They agreed that the value of standing forests as a sink for CO2 must be emphasized and were enthused at the Nevisian project where geothermal energy will be exported to sister island, St Kitts. They also proposed that Caribbean countries draw up action plans for renewable energy and work on anticipating the problems of rising sea-levels by identifying potential resettlement scenarios.

For full article on Nevis’ Geothermal Energy Project, see http://www.winnfm.com/news2.asp?NewsID=3259

For full article on Climate Change and Energy Access meeting, see http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/local/03/16/caribbean-mps-enthused-at-nevis-geothermal-project/

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