Dominica signs deal with Ormat for 10-MW geothermal power plant
Dominica geothermal project site, Caribbean (source: Nixon George, Quick Link Productions via Dominica GDC)
Carlo Cariaga
6 Dec 2023
Dominica has signed an agreement with Ormat for the finance, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 10-MW geothermal power plant in Laudat.
The Government of Dominica and the Dominica Electricity Services (DOMLEC) has signed an agreement with Ormat Technologies Inc. (Ormat) that sees Ormat finance the construction of, operate, and maintain a 10-MW geothermal power plant in Laudat.
Ormat will operate and maintain the power plant for 25 years, after which ownership of the power plant and other assets acquired during the life of the agreement will be transferred to the Government of Dominica. The power plant is expected to be commissioned by 2025 with plans of further capacity expansion.
Ormat also operates the 14.75-MW Bouillante geothermal power plant in nearby Guadeloupe following an acquisition back in 2016.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai, UAE between the Honourable Vince Henderson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy on behalf of the Government of Dominica, Ambassador Francine Baron, Director, Board of Directors of DOMLEC, on behalf of the power company and Paul Thomsen, Vice President of Business Development, on behalf of Ormat Technologies Inc. and its subsidiary.
The Government of Dominica had already drilled and tested production and reinjection wells for the geothermal project in Laudat. The Government will maintain ownership of these assets. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said that the government has provided nearly half of the ECD 150 million (approx. USD 55 million) that has been spent on the project so far.
Dominica’s Finance Minister Dr Irving McIntyre described the geothermal project as a “transformative effort” for the Government of Dominica and an important step in the fulfillment of the nation’s resiliency goals. The geothermal project in Roseau Valley, being developed by the Dominica Geothermal Development Company, aims to provide a capacity of 10 MW of geothermal power generation. We have reported extensively on this project since the initial plans were announced in 2009 and the initial drilling results in 2012.
Source: Dominica News Online
