The 10-MW geothermal power plant in Laudat in Dominica has officially started commercial operations, marking the second operational geothermal power plant in the Caribbean region. The statement was made as part of the Q2 2026 Financial Results report of Ormat Technologies, and corroborated by several other sources.
Further emphasizing the importance of this milestone, Finance Minister Dr. Irving McIntyre stated that this makes Dominica the first member country of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to generate electricity from its geothermal resources. In June 2026, geothermal contributed about 43% of the electricity supply in Dominica, with 25% from hydropower rounding out the island country’s renewable power supply.
From a long-term perspective, and based on calculations by the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), the geothermal power plant is expected to produce an output of 59.6 GWh in 2026, which accounts for about 50% of the energy demand in Dominica. By 2027, with a fully year of production, geothermal energy is estimated to reach 60% of the gross electrical energy production.
The start of commercial operations follows several months of commissioning work, during which total power generation costs in the island had already been reduced despite the geothermal power plant operating at partial capacity. This is also the culmination of about 15 years of development work for geothermal in Dominica, starting with early drilling back in 2011.
To complement the work done to develop the geothermal project, the Government of Dominica has also upgraded about 19 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines and substations at Padu, Trafalgar, and Fond Cole. Beyond the existing project, officials already have plans to investigate other geothermal prospects, possibly in northern Dominica, while considering options to increase output from the geothermal reservoir at Laudat.
Source: Dominica News Online, CARILEC, Ormat Technologies via Globenewswire, and Amir Junger via LinkedIn
