Over the last decade and half, several Eastern Caribbean states (OECS) have made a concerted effort to capitalize on their volcanic topography to develop their geothermal resources to produce electricity. The aim is to reduce their substantial reliance on costly diesel for power generation which has led to the region having some of the highest electricity tariffs in the world. While there has been progress, the pace has been slow. No new geothermal capacity has came online during this period.

The OECS Commission, through the GeoBuild capacity building program, has requested AMALA to review the development of the industry in the region to draw lessons from experience. The aim is to inform member states and the industry how they could learn from the past and accelerate development going forward. It is understood that delays in progress are costly since they continue to spend heavily to operate their diesel generators in the interim.

AMALA’s approach to this comprehensive study includes an industry review through desk research and expert inputs; and interviews with over 30 key stakeholders ranging from government officials, power utilities, financiers, private sector developers,and geothermal technical experts; and a participatory workshop where initial findings will be shared and feedback obtained. The findings will then be synthesized to identify key barriers that have slowed down geothermal development in the region, and how they could be overcome to leapfrog and speed up progress.

For more info, contact info@amalaenergy.com.