How Dominica has Breathed New Life into its Geothermal Project

Geothermal Energy

Date posted: 04/04/17

Dominica long-standing efforts to develop its geothermal resource have been well documented. Nearly a decade ago an exploratory drilling program confirmed the existence of a viable high-temperature resource. Since then, Dominica bid to harness its geothermal has seen highs and lows but ultimately the project at Wotten Waven Laudat while it has attracted interest but has failed to secure a developer. Now, a rebooted and multi-phased approach supported by The World Bank and other partners is breathing new life into the project. What sets Dominica apart from its Caribbean neighbors is its vast resource potential, estimates exceed 500 MW, far bigger than any other in the region. While Dominica priority has always been to build a small geothermal plant to meet its domestic energy needs and shift away from expensive diesel, the country also has ambitions to build a larger plant and export excess energy to its neighboring islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. If Dominica successful initial exploration program did much to de-risk the project for prospective investors, considerable residual resource and investment risks remained which ultimately led to at least two interested developers leaving Dominica at the altar. Similar challenges confront many of the other geothermal islands in the Caribbean where the industry is new, projects lack scale, and capacity is low. The stakes, though, are high for Dominica which has few options to capitalize on the investment already sunk into the project and which has an urgent need to bring online secure and stable power-supply options for the island nation. Dominica fix is innovative and pivots around the formation of the Dominica Geothermal Development Company, a special purpose vehicle with a mandate to develop a small geothermal power plant of around 5-7 MW. The development of the smaller plant will serve to confirm the Wotten Waven Laudat resources and their ability to support electricity production over an extended time.