The Nevis Island Administration is advancing towards the next phase of its geothermal development following discussions with Iceland Drilling Company to finalise a contract for exploratory drilling.
Premier of Nevis and Minister of Energy, the Honourable Mark Brantley, met with Iceland Drilling’s CEO, Sveinn Hannesson, alongside key government personnel to discuss the future of geothermal on the island.
The delegation engaged directly with officials from the Nevis Electricity Company to work through the technical and contractual details regarding the drilling agreement to bring the project to completion.
Premier Brantley said, “Iceland Drilling set out a very aggressive timeline that they could mobilise and in fact, hope to start drilling by August. I’m optimistic that we can make it, bearing in mind that we’re now in April. But they feel that the drill rig, which they say is en route to Iceland for repairs and retrofitting, can then sail to Nevis to commence the drilling operations here, which will be a significant forward step in terms of our geothermal ambitions.”
The first phase of the project will involve drilling multiple wells to support the construction of a geothermal power plant capable of producing up to 30MW of electricity – enough to power Nevis while supplying additional energy to St. Kitts.
Studies have indicated the island possesses one of the most significant geothermal resources in the Caribbean, with an estimated output possibly as high as 900MW – far exceeding local demand.