The AMALA team convened regional stakeholders for a participatory workshop on November 12, 2025, focused on accelerating geothermal development across the Caribbean. The workshop was sponsored by the GoeBuild Programme of the Organisation of Easter Caribbean States (OECS) Commission and supported by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Themed “Turning Experience into Action: Applying 20 Years of Geothermal Lessons in the Caribbean”, the workshop was presented the findings of a review conducted by AMALA on the region’s geothermal development experience to date. It provided a venue for validating these findings and gathering feedback from nearly 50 key regional stakeholders, including governments, power utilities, development partners, international financial institutions, geothermal developers, and technical experts on the subject.
The session was facilitated by Migara Jayawardena, Regional Economic Advisor to the OECS and Managing Director of AMALA, and Devanshi Patnaik, Manager for Energy & Strategy, with support from various other multi-disciplinary experts from AMALA, including Noureddine Berrah (Director for Energy), Paolo Bona (Geothermal Resource Expert), Sergio Rivera (Financial Advisor), Stan Peabody (Social Development Expert), and Florida Huff (Energy Analyst). Leading up to the workshop, the AMALA Team undertook extensive research on the industry in the region and globally, conducted semi-structured interviews with over 30 stakeholder organizations, drafted a flagship report synthesizing the findings, and administered a regional stakeholder survey to validate results.
The workshop centered on 20 lessons that were distilled from experience over the past 20 years of efforts to develop geothermal in the region, which were aimed at supplying base load power and reducing dependence on costly, imported diesel. The Lessons were categorized as those that are overarching and apply throughout development of the technology as well as those that can help mobilize risk capital for carrying out geothermal exploration, augment the limited domestic capacity for undertaking development, seamlessly integrate geothermal into small-island power grids, enhance the investment climate for mobilizing finance, ensure adherence to international standards for environment & social, and scale up geothermal through cross-border energy trade.
The OECS Commission will soon launch the final report on “A Handbook of Lessons from Experience Developing Geothermal in the Caribbean,” which will serve as a comprehensive and definitive guide to accelerate development in the region in line with industry and international standards. Stay tuned!
For more information on AMALA, please visit https://www.amalaenergy.com/about-us/.