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The tiny Caribbean island of Nevis will be the venue of an international conference focused on geothermal energy in the Eastern Caribbean, to be held next week at the Mount Nevis Hotel.
Organised by the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP) German Technical Corporation (GTZ); the conference is the first of its kind to be held in the Eastern Caribbean and will feature two days of discussions and a workshop on geothermal energy conducted by experts from New Zealand’s University of Auckland.
The conference, which will bring together key regional and international specialists in geothermal energy, comes at a time when the world’s focus on the environmental, economic and social consequences of fossil fuel dependence has been heightened by the unprecedented economic events of the past year.
During 2008, crude oil prices spiked to approach an unprecedented $150 a barrel, helping to fuel a massive, global economic downturn. Led by Barack Obama’s Washington, many of the major world capitals have this year announced large economic stimulus packages based on the development of new, green economies.
Geothermal energy is considered by many experts to offer the best prospect for the development of a clean, sustainable energy future for the Eastern Caribbean – and Nevis has emerged as the frontrunner in the field. A 10 MegaWatt (MW) geothermal power project now being developed there is expected to transform the island into the first truly green island in the Caribbean – and one of the least fossil-fuel dependent nations in the world.
Geothermal power is already generated in over 20 countries worldwide including the United States, Iceland, Italy, Germany, Turkey, France, Mexico, El Salvador, New Zealand and Japan. The French-speaking Caribbean island Guadeloupe has 15 MW of geothermal capacity in operation, with ambitious plans to increase this to 47 MW by 2020.
Preliminary estimates place the total geothermal potential of the Eastern Caribbean region in excess of 5,000 MW, which is about sixteen times the total existing demand for electricity in the OECS territories.
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