By Daily Punch

The nature isle of Caribbean- Dominica is spending a lot of money on long-term economic projects. The development initiatives are building and developing sustainable housing, healthcare and educational facilities, as well as improving renewable energy capabilities.

The Prime Minister of the small island nation, Dominica, has made the commitment to build the world’s first climate-resilient nation by 2030.

Along with hydropower which accounts for 28 percent of overall energy use, the government is building more durable buildings while concurrently strengthening its renewable energy capacity.

Moreover, a 7MW tiny geothermal power plant is now being built in the Roseau Valley, the island nation of Dominica.

The facility aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix, diversify the country’s energy system, as well as create a clear path for private sector geothermal expansion investment.

Heat is the principal source of energy in geothermal power plants, which function similarly to coal and nuclear power plants. Geothermal energy replaces a coal plant’s boiler or a nuclear plant’s reactor with heat from the Earth.

Micha Rose Emmett, CEO of the world’s leading government advisory and marketing firm, CS Global Partners also lauded the government of Dominica’s commitment towards sustainability and resilience.

“The Geothermal Power Plant shows Dominica’s commitment toward resilience. Projects like the geothermal plant are putting the Nature Isle ahead of the world in combatting climate change while relieving the nation of its reliance on imported fossil fuels,” said Micha Rose Emmett.

The geothermal Risk Mitigation Project will significantly lower electricity costs in Dominica and increase the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix from 25 to 51%, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 38,223 tons of CO2 per year.

The Dominica Geothermal Development Company Ltd (DGDC) is implementing the project, and a part of the project is funded by the citizenship by investment programme of Dominica.

The DGDC has decided to build a binary cycle power plant, which, whilst more costly than alternative geothermal plant models, is the most environmentally friendly and accordingly, the long-term benefits accrued by not causing pollution far outweigh the additional cost.

Work on the geothermal plant is well underway, and in February 2021, the government signed a US $12.5 million contract with an Iceland-based company to drill two wells.

Dr Vince Henderson- the Parliamentary Representative for the Grand Bay Constituency and Minister for Planning, Economic Development, Climate Resilience, Sustainable Development, and Renewable Energy of Dominica recently visited the site to observe the progress of the project and confirmed that the completion of the geothermal project is to take around 18 months, with the plant expected to be operational by the end of 2023.

The geothermal plant will have a substantial and positive impact on the island’s national advancement and the lives of its citizens. In addition to the creation of local jobs related to the construction and maintenance of the plant, the government is hoping to use the energy generated to power 23,000 homes with clean geothermal energy, which represents approximately 90 percent of Dominica’s entire population. It will also provide electricity to the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which in turn will encourage foreign exchange.

  Caribbean, Dominica