by Eulana Weekes

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Minister of Infrastructure Konris Maynard met with officials from the Saudi Fund for Development on Monday, February 12, to discuss the partnership for the Geothermal Project based in Nevis and the electrical interconnection grid between St. Kitts and Nevis.

According to Minister Maynard, the “Saudi Fund Development Team is on our beautiful twin island to analyse first-hand the feasibility of the project and to meet with a number of Key Government stakeholders as we map out the way forward to make Geothermal a reality.”

Meanwhile, site visits were scheduled in Nevis on February 13, 2024, while other meetings were scheduled to occur with the Prime Minister’s Office, The Ministry of Finance, and the Attorney General’s Office.

The February 12 meeting was a follow-up to several other meetings with Saudi Fund Development. As recently as COP28 in Dubai, Mr Ian Ward, a member of the St. Kitts and Nevis delegation, presented a road map of the green energy transition project.

The plan is to implement 66-kilovolt transmission systems on each island and interconnect them through submarine cables to share the geothermal energy.

The project will be done in several phases, including Phase 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3 and 4. Throughout the phases, there will be the construction of wells, installation of underground and submarine cables, erection of substations, and linking of power stations across the islands

The estimated total cost for Phase 1 is US $143.3 million, to be completed by the end of 2026, according to Mr Ward’s presentation. Phase 2 is also expected to be completed by the end of 2026. The estimated total cost for Phase 2 is US $28.8 million. The total estimated cost for Phase 3 is US $162.9 million. The last phase is expected to be completed at the end of 2028 with a total estimated cost of US $170 million. The cumulative cost for the entire Geothermal Project in St. Kitts and Nevis is US $505 million.

Maynard said, “The Government remains committed to facilitating, in every possible way, a pathway to energy independence with Geothermal Power as a key component of our overall Energy mix.”

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