Government of Dominica investing $15m into geothermal project
Drilling rig on project site, Dominica (source: Enorca)
Alexander Richter
21 Dec 2016
The Government of Dominica in the Caribbean has announced a decision to invest $15 million into the geothermal power project on the island.
With its decision to further develop the geothermal project in Dominica, the island state’s government has now committed an investment of $15 million with funds from its Citizenship by Investment Programme.
This was revealed this week at a meeting of community leaders by Ambassador Dr. Vince Henderson, Chairman of the Geothermal Negotiating Team.
“We expect the government to transfer US$15M from that programme to the company through the usual procedures and guidelines of the Finance Act,” he said.
Dr. Henderson gave a breakdown of cash injections into the company moving forward saying that the United Kingdom has also committed $7 million grant funding to the project. He said this amount has been promise, however it’s up to the UK Government to commit to contributing that amount.
The ambassador stated that now that the company is being finalized, the recruitment of staff has begun. This required the company to also secure the expertise needed. He informed that a team with the best business consultant, legal and technical geothermal expertise has been selected.
In all of this, what does that mean for Dominica and how will it benefit consumers?
“We will be selling to DOMLEC at the cheapest possible tariff,” Dr Henderson explained. “As I have been advised by my consultant we will have one of the best tariffs for any project of this type anywhere in the world because we have a combination of grant and government financing [which is] unprecedented. I have been working with several small island states developing geothermal energy and I can tell you none of their governments have been able to make that kind of commitment and our Government has committed US$15M to that project. That makes a world of difference,” he said.
The ambassador expressed that Government’s intention is to ensure that the geothermal project is done in harmony with the environment and the communities.
He appealed to the communities for their support and encouraged them to come forward with their queries and suggestions.
Source: Government of Dominica
