Direct Use of Geothermal Energy Project

The Direct Use of Geothermal Energy Project is a US$115,000 project co-funded by the Government of New Zealand. This project mainly aims to identify and promote investment opportunities for direct uses of geothermal energy in OECS.

The project was launched in September 2020 and should be completed by the end of July 2022.

In 2020, the OECS Commission partnered with the Government of New Zealand to deliver a study on possible opportunities for the direct use of geothermal energy outside of electricity generation across OECS countries. Direct use of geothermal resources can be done in conjunction with geothermal power plants or independently as standalone projects. Direct use of geothermal resources opens up the opportunity to develop the region’s geothermal resources to not only contribute to the renewable energy sector, but to support the creation of new industries and the expansion of existing ones. Non-electricity generating uses of geothermal resources have been growing globally and include areas such as drying, cool storage, refrigeration, food processing, distillation and hot spas. Geothermal energy is already being used for tourism in Member States such as at the Sulphur Springs in Saint Lucia, but there is scope for agriculture, food production and other industrial applications

This recent cooperation between the OECS Commission and the Government of New Zealand will entail an overview of existing geothermal resource applications globally that demonstrate the breadth of potential applications relevant to the Caribbean context. This will help identify the best approach for the region and the most suitable applications in specific geothermal localities given the local context and opportunities for implementation. An important part of the study will examine the current knowledge of the geothermal resources in the OECS, their level of development and application for non-electricity generation purposes. The output will include brief case studies highlighting direct use projects in commercial operation and their critical success factors for the region. The ultimate goal is to identify and promote investment opportunities for direct uses of geothermal energy in OECS.

Beneficiary Countries:

The study in the area of geothermal energy in the Eastern Caribbean will benefit all the OECS Member States who have significant geothermal resources. However, the study will focus on particular Member States, namely: the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Goals

The project pursues three main objectives including: 

• providing a resource for OECS policy-makers on opportunities for the use of geothermal energy (non-electricity generation),
• conceptualizing pilot projects and identifying the resources required for their implementation,
• selecting a project(s) to progress and garner support from donors and other parties.

Activities

The activities below will be undertaken as part of the study on the development of geothermal energy in the Eastern Caribbean include:

• The overview of direct uses of geothermal energy
• The review of geothermal resource data in the OECS
• The identification of key economic opportunities to utilize geothermal resources for non-electricity generating uses in OECS
• The estimate of the capital cost of development along with the identification of preliminary near-term investment target(s)
• The overview of enabling framework for a project including policy, financial, legislative incentives, and barriers
• The dissemination of information and the implementation of an awareness campaign targeted at public, private, international, and local stakeholders
• The development of a high-level strategy to pursue non-electricity use of geothermal resources in the OECS

Access more resources on Sustainable Energy in the Eastern Caribbean via the OECS Library.

The OECS is working in close collaboration with all the Ministries of its Member States on all matters related to sustainable energy in the Eastern Caribbean.