Dominica poised to lead Caribbean toward green energy with geothermal power and ammonia-fueled shipping

Dominica is well on its way to becoming one of the first English-speaking Caribbean islands to produce green energy by utilizing the Geothermal Plant, with sights on an offshoot sector for maritime fuel alternatives.

This information came from Dominica’s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization, Benoit Bardouille, during a recent interview with Dominica News Online (DNO).

Over the weekend, DNO covered a tour of the world’s first ammonia-powered vessel docked at the Cabrits while visiting Dominica.

The Green Pioneer, a Fortescue vessel, visited Dominica to demonstrate a clear, real-world example of how the abundant geothermal energy from the nearly-completed facility in Laudat can be harnessed for practical use.

The West Australian iron and ore mining company states that it is in the process of acquiring technologies to allow for the elimination of the world’s carbon emissions, with a hard 2030 goal to Real Zero (100% of greenhouse gas emissions at source).

“Well, this project surrounds Dominica [to become] one of the first islands within the English-speaking Caribbean which is going to produce green energy through utilizing the geothermal plant,” he said. “And this vessel here is the first vessel that utilizes dual fuel, one of them being diesel and the other being ammonia.”

Importantly, he explained that ammonia is one of the fuels that can be used with low carbon emissions, and in terms of renewables, “we can produce green ammonia in the future once we have our geothermal plant operational.”

Bardouille further stated that a broader aspect is local development, which would allow the provision of power and ammonia to vessels in the future.

“The IMO, International Maritime Organization, is in fact looking at 2050 for zero carbon emissions, and the initiative here is to allow shipping to be able to have alternative fuels to be able to bring shipping in line with reducing carbon emissions,” he noted.

Bardouille believes that the ship is important because it is a vessel leading the way in the search for alternative fuels, which would ensure that this particular framework of the IMO can be realized.

 “And so it is important that Dominica, as the nature island of the Caribbean–and we, also being one of the first English-speaking islands in the region to have an operational geothermal plant within the next couple of weeks–” Bardouille emphasized. “…in terms of renewable energy, green power, we will be able to synchronize with the ship, which is utilizing ammonia, which is also renewable fuel that they’re using.”

Bardouille went on to state that this puts them in a very good position. “And as you know,  the Prime Minister, in his vision, in terms of looking at Dominica, he wants Dominica to be [the] first climate-resilient country in the world. And so these are all steps being taken  by the government of Dominica to ensure that Dominica can continue on that path to be able to realize that feat in terms of first renewable country, climate resilient country in the world.”

Using geothermal energy to produce ammonia reportedly highlights how natural resources can be directly applied to create environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional fossil fuels, helping reduce emissions and promote a cleaner future for shipping.

Meanwhile, Fortescue reports that two of the vessel’s four engines have already been converted to run on a dual-fuel ammonia and diesel mix.

After two years of research and development of proprietary technology for safe operation using this dual-fuel, the first successful transfer was completed in Singapore in 2024.