Submarine cable from geothermal project in Nevis to Puerto Rico finds U.S. support
Nevis well 3, steam flow (source: West Indies Power)
Alexander Richter
7 Apr 2011
West Indies Power (WIP) reports that the U.S. White House has given its support to the idea of a submarine electrical interconnection, that would connect the island of Nevis with Puerto Rico, to provide geothermal power from the project developed by WIP.
In a release by West Indies Power, the company reports that “the (U.S.) White House has given its support to the idea of a submarine electrical interconnection to supply low cost renewable “green” energy from Nevis, West Indies to Puerto Rico.
West Indies Power (WIP) proposes to supply geothermal energy to Puerto Rico, by 2015, via a submarine cable similar to what is already in use in Europe (Norway to Holland).
The US Government’s backing of the idea came in the ‘Report by the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status’, which offers concrete proposals to spur the Puerto Rico economy as well as specific transportation, energy and federal programme proposals.
It recommends that “to advance discussions in the Caribbean region on the potential for subsea electrical interconnection under the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, the Department of State, through a grant to the Organization of American States (OAS), should fund a pre-feasibility study to examine an interconnection between Puerto Rico and St. Kitts and Nevis”.
“This work results from a request from the government of St. Kitts and Nevis for the Department of State’s assistance as it tries to develop Nevis’ geothermal resources (estimated potential of up to 300 megawatts (MW)). St. Kitts and Nevis’ power demand is approximately 40 MW, making Puerto Rico an important prospective market,” it added.
WIP’s Chief Executive Officer Kerry McDonald said the company was happy to see that the US Government supports the company’s idea of a ‘Caribbean Interconnect Project’ which proposes the creation of a submarine electrical grid to supply electrical power from its geothermal power plants in Nevis, Dominica and Saba to the islands of the Caribbean including Puerto Rico.
Source: Company release via Caribbean 360
