Nevis choosing American consortium for geothermal project
Nevis St. Kitts, island view (source: flickr/ Sonya Bobb, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
21 Nov 2013
Announced today, a U.S. consortium has won the tender for the geothermal power project on Nevis in the Caribbean. Nevis Renewable Energy International consists of a number of experienced individuals, as well as engineering firm TetraTech and AltaRock Energy.
After completing a tender process based on international best practice in competitive procurement and conducting a transparent evaluation process, the Nevis Electricity Company Limited (NEVLEC) and the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) decided on Friday, November 15, to enter into contract negotiations with the winning bidder–Nevis Renewable Energy International (NREI)– for geothermal energy development and geothermal power plant design, construction and operation on the island of Nevis.
Throughout the procurement process, which began with the release of an RFP in September 2013, NEVLEC and NIA placed a strong emphasis on identifying a technically and financially qualified development partner for the Island’s considerable geothermal resource potential that would create the most value for the island, and NEVLEC’s rate paying customers.
The consortium put together by NREI has worked on developing geothermal power projects in the USA, Canada, Chile, Peru, St Lucia, and Kenya, as well as other sites worldwide. It includes some of the industry’s premier individuals and companies in the area of geothermal resource development and financing, and in the design, construction and operation of geothermal power plants.
NREI Ltd. is led and owned by Mr. Thomas S. Drolet (President), Mr. Bruce Cutright (Chief Technology Officer), and Mr. Domenic Falcone (CFO). Between them they have worked on and led International energy projects for over 95 years and specifically in the geothermal energy field collectively for over 55 years. The NREI team currently includes 2 major geothermal energy partners.
Tetra Tech, is a $2.6 billion publicly traded environmental and engineering company with extensive experience in the development, design and construction of renewable energy power plants. Tetra Tech has provided technical support at more than 700 renewable energy facilities in the U.S. and recently co-sponsored the 2013 Caribbean Renewable and Forum. John Borgersen is Tetra Tech’s Geothermal Initiative leader.
AltaRock Energy is a premier geothermal developer focused on technology improvement to reduce the cost of geothermal power. AltaRock Energy holds 26 provisional, filed or in-process patents with the potential to dramatically increase the global geothermal resource base, mitigate dry-hole risk and improve production from existing resources. AltaRock is currently the operator of the Newberry geothermal leases including the Newberry EGS Demonstration project with $21.5M of grant funding from the US Department of Energy. AltaRock is also the resource manager for two other operating geothermal projects.
NREI, which has expressed its commitment to building local capacity and leveraging geothermal development on the island of Nevis is to create economic growth, also counts Nevis Energy Limited (NEL), a Nevisian firm specializing in Caribbean economic development as a key project partner. NEL has been instrumental in helping NREI position its RFP response and learn of the requirements for Nevis’s growth in the future.
In addition to providing lower cost, cleaner electricity for Nevis, and potentially St Kitts and further afield in the future, NREI intends to utilize local resources as much as possible for site development, planning and construction; create new economic opportunities for local businesses; and mentor Nevisian government, educational and other organizations by providing technology transfer and training in areas of geology, modeling, well design/drilling, power plant development, operation,maintenance and technical/financial risk assessment.
In so doing, NREI will assist NEVLEC and NIA to design and implement a geothermal program that will enable Nevis to develop the expertise needed to serve as a center of excellence for geothermal development throughout the West Indies.
Source: Press release via West Indies News Network
