St. Kitts and Nevis secured full funding for geothermal project: PM Drew

St Kitts and Nevis has secured the full funding for inaugural geothermal energy project, aiming to enhance the sustainable island state agenda. Speaking during his second Roundtable edition of the year in which he interacted with media representatives, the Labour leader Dr Terrance Drew termed it a “tremendous” progress. 

The development will help the twin island-state of St. Kitts and Nevis to inch closer to its sustainable island-state goal which seeks to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel import so that energy costs for its citizens go down. 

The Sustainable Island State Agenda (SISA), which the prime minister said is a must to ensure the survival of St. Kitts and Nevis, has several key pillars of foundation and one of them is about renewable energy. The country aims to transition to green energy and promote renewable energy.   

“We have now secured the financing necessary to launch the geothermal project,” Drew said. He was responding to a journalist’s question on the recent meeting of the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean) states’ energy ministers in St. Kitts and Nevis and how it could be used to promote the SISA both in the island-state and the region as a whole. 

“This is a transformative moment for our people. Geothermal energy will provide reliable, low-cost electricity, boost economic growth, and position St. Kitts & Nevis as a leader in clean energy across the region,” he added. 

Geothermal will also benefit Nevis

PM Drew also said the geothermal energy initiative will benefit St. Kitts’ sister island of Nevis, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to national unity in economic progress. “This is not going to be political football,” he said.

The prime minister recently had a meeting with the premier of Nevis, Mark Brantley, where both agreed on a cooperative approach to ensure both islands gain from the key resource. 

PM Drew said geothermal energy will not only reduce the burden of energy costs on the people of the federation but also make it viable in terms of energy through creating new industries and jobs. He said it could also sell the energy in future. 

He also revealed the drilling for the first five wells of the project will begin soon, marking the beginning of a new era of renewable resources dominating the energy landscape of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Solar energy commitment

Besides the geothermal project, the government of St. Kitts and Nevis has also made a commitment to a solar farm initiative worth 50 megawatts. 

It is expected to reveal more details on project timelines and expansion plans shortly.