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Government of St. Vincent and Grenadines to increase stake in geothermal project

Government of St. Vincent and Grenadines to increase stake in geothermal project Petit St. Vincent (PSV), Winward Island, The Grenadines, Caribbean (source: flickr/ lyng883, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 2 Apr 2018

The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has announced an amendment to a shareholder agreement on the geothermal project that increases the government's stake to 49%, with 51% held by Emera Inc. and Reykjavik Geothermal. Negotiations on a PPA are complete and to be signed shortly.

Last year, the Honourable Prime Minister extensively discussed the ongoing execution of our plan to install 10-15 MW of geothermal energy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. That process, according to the 2018 Budget Address continues.

For much of 2017, Saint Vincent Electricity Services Ltd. (“VINLEC”) and the Energy Unit, in conjunction with experts provided by the Clinton Global Initiative were engaged in intense and protracted negotiations with Emera Inc., and Reykjavik Geothermal, the government’s partners, over the precise contours of the Power Purchase Agreement and Shareholders Agreement that will govern the extraction and sale of geothermal energy from the consortium to VINLEC.

Those negotiations are now complete, and the PPA is expected to be signed shortly; up for signing shortly, too, is an amended Shareholders’ Agreement in which the government’s shareholding is slated to increase to 49 percent. As a consequence, a total of $8 million in civil works related to the geothermal project is expected to be completed this year, including the roadworks, river damming and training, installation of water lines, construction of a drill pad, and the commencement of drilling activities.

We are one step closer to the supply of home-grown, secure, renewable energy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and in radically altering our existing fossil-dependent energy mix. This will go a long way toward meeting our commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. The Honourable Prime Minister, in his capacity as Minister with responsibility for Energy, will further elaborate our commendable progress on this matter.

No details are available on how the change in share ownership would affect the amount of money the government is to contribute to the project. Originally the consortium had committed $80 million.

Source: Prime Ministers Office