NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS – The Premier of Nevis the Honourable Mark Brantley has signaled to the world that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is fully committed to the pursuit of geothermal as a national project.
Premier Brantley recently traveled to Cartagena, Colombia on the invitation of the Geothermal Congress for Latin America and the Caribbean (GEOLAC) to speak during their Annual Conference held November 28-29, 2023.
The Premier addressed the Conference as part of the first panel of the day on November 28, 2023 under the theme “Breakthrough or Impasse: What does the Future Hold for Geothermal Across Latin America and the Caribbean”. During this session, he shared the fact that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis had determined to pursue geothermal as a national project for the benefit of both Nevisians and Kittitians and that geothermal energy provided the foundation on which St. Kitts and Nevis intends to construct the world’s first sustainable Island State.
Premier Brantley was invited to speak a second time on the opening day on the theme “Caribbean: Moving Closer to the End Game” where he made the call for a change in the global narrative on renewable energy and suggested that henceforth it should be seen and assessed in terms of financing as a “global public good”.
The Premier reinforced the point that the harnessing of renewable energy was qualitatively different to the harnessing of fossil fuel energy. He expressed that renewable energy is a step in saving the planet while fossil fuel energy continues to destroy the planet. Both then should not be assessed for financial support and pure profit in the same way.
The Premier returned to Nevis on December 02, 2023 and stated: “Nevis is the talk of the geothermal world. Major private geothermal players such as Ormat, EGYSIM, Albioma, Icelandic Drilling, and NovusEarth are all interested in the Nevis project.
“Equally, we have had tremendous interest from the World Bank, Inter American Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank and other institution players.
“My message was simple yet profound. St. Kitts and Nevis will use geothermal energy to transform itself into the best place in the world to live, work and do business. Geothermal gives us energy security, water security, food security and economic security. It is imperative that we move with alacrity to harness this gift from God for the benefit of our people,” he said.
The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) in collaboration with the Federal Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is making steady progress in advancing the project’s development with a view to finalizing the tender process and begin drilling for the geothermal energy in 2024.