NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS – Premier of Nevis the Honourable Mark Brantley has hailed the passing of a Resolution on developing geothermal energy on Nevis in the National Assembly of St. Kitts and Nevis, as an historic national development.
By unanimous vote Members of the National Assembly in Basseterre on Monday, November 21, 2023 signaled their support for a Resolution that outlines the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis’ and the Nevis Island Administration’s (NIA) commitment to collaboratively pursue the development of geothermal energy on Nevis.
Premier Brantley, Minister of Public Utilities and Energy in the NIA, said the ability to harness geothermal energy would unlock immeasurable economic independence for St. Kitts and Nevis that would redound to the benefit of all of its citizens.
“We can power St. Kitts and Nevis and have a paradigm shift in terms of how we develop…We have all the stars aligned, all we needed was the will. That’s why today for me is historic because we have a public demonstration of the will to make this happen.
“This asset has to be deployed for the benefit of the nation. That is what has to happen, and all of us must be able to benefit from this gift…We have the resource, and if we have it then I think it would be negligent, it would be criminal, not to develop it for the benefit of all of the people of this country.”
He thanked the Federal Government led by Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew for its cooperation and for having the foresight to collaborate with the Nevis Island Administration in advancing the development of the renewable energy resource.
“We have given a lot of lip service to being the best small island state in the world; I actually feel that we can achieve it. We can become the best. We can become the model…Geothermal represents our gold, our oil, our timber, our diamonds. It is the natural resource that we are blessed with and I’m happy to finally have a partner in Basseterre that understands that this benefits everybody; that not because it is located in Nevis it benefits all of us.”
Prime Minister Drew also underscored the tremendous economic benefit that would be derived from harnessing geothermal energy on Nevis, saying the time had come to put political differences aside for the good of the country and its citizenry.
“We are obligated, I don’t care what our politics is, to each member of St. Kitts and Nevis that they would have the opportunity to live the best life that they can.
“St. Kitts and Nevis is going to take this on as a federal project and this document is a clear representation that St. Kitts and Nevis are not merely speaking words of working together, but this Resolution passed in the parliament by Members who are here, actioned together, opposition and government, saying here is the document, we are ready to act.”
The Nevis Island Administration has secured a $17 million recoverable grant from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to fund the drilling phase of the Nevis Geothermal Project. By March 2023 more than 30 companies had expressed interest via the drilling tender process.