The next step for Dominica’s renowned geothermal plant project is expected to begin within this financial year.
So far one production well and two re-injection wells have been established.
The Hon. Finance Minister and Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, told the nation in his budget address that in the meantime, the legal framework is being developed.
He said, “Within the next two months, we expect to conclude negotiations with a French investment consortium, who are partnering with us in a joint venture, to build and operate the domestic plant, and the plant to export electricity to Guadeloupe and Martinique.
“The Geothermal Development Bill, a critical piece of legislation to facilitate investment in geothermal energy, has been drafted and will be tabled in Parliament by the end of September. Funding has been identified for the construction of the domestic plant. Both the World Bank and the Agence Francaise de Developpment (AFD) have offered financing under highly concessional terms and discussions in that regard are ongoing.”
With that announcement, the Hon. Prime Minister revealed that the island is positioned to get the best deal to finance the domestic plant.
“The World Bank came here to Dominica to offer us money to finance the small plant. There was a presentation to Cabinet but we have a situation where the AFD is also offering us money to finance thus plant. So we have held back our application the World Bank and we are negotiating for best terms possible to borrow this money. I believe that in the next few weeks, we’ll be in a position to determine whether we’ll go with the World Bank or the AFD based on the best lending terms. At the end of the day, that will play important role in the cost of the plants and the resultant cost of energy to the consumers in Dominica.”
He added that were it not for the ongoing negotiations with the two firms, Government would have been more advanced in the development of the domestic plant.
Construction on the plant should begin in 2016 and commissioned on completion in 2018.
This has been a long time coming, but I am skeptical of how much relief it will bring to Dominicans. There was an article last year where Domlec talked about the geothermal project as if it was theirs. Will we still be at their mercy?
We all bawl at the high price of electricity. Cheap energy attracts industries due to low cost of production. High energy bills drive away investors. We buy petroleum to generate electricity when we pay our high electricity bills. We spend millions of our hard earned dollars to buy energy from foreign nations whilst we sit on top of available geothermal energy. This is bad business, and we grumble at the high cost of living. I firmly believe that when cheap electricity meets consumers we will all breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the benefits of the very thing we are all grumbling about. Cost of living will sure to go down.
Keep on dreaming Jaco
Skerrit is going to have to export all that electricity to China to re-pay all the billions he has borrowed.
Just like how the ground breaking for the new hospital was supposed to be in july
Nah it is more like the promise of the pre election Tablet for all Students
Lets face it, the only way this is going to be economically viable is if we are able to sell power to the french islands, and this is not going to happen because we would not be able to sell it cheap enough to them. If we produce for domestic consumption then we will not be able to afford it.
I am appalled at the professionals that knows the truth and will not bring out the truth to the public for consumption but will instead hide to get their cut. The funds that have gone into this project is a waste and i hope it was grant funding and not a part of the billion dollar debt that this government have accumulated on the backs of dominicans.
The first thing you people should tell Skerritt Dominicans must be majority share holders, every body buy stocks in the power plant make sure you control it.
Obama went to Africa and tell the Africans the same thing I am telling you stop begging learn to think and create the jobs your self. All over the world Blacks have the same problems, waiting for some one to feed and lead them. Every body wants to be a leader of their country? No one wants to be an industrialist . Fountain should have a big chicken farm in his village and employ every body there. Why is he wasting his time on politics , wasting all his youth doing nothing. Why dont some of the bright big mouth politician go back and sell bottle water.when are we going to start building a nation.
And You ? Are You an Industrialist or just another fault finder like me LOL
After the British gave us independence in 1978 , we all are clueless in how to build a nation, all we do is fight each other for stupid power in Roseau, you cannot even sell your mangoes over seas, we come to the Bronx and work as maids and city workers and will never succeed at running any thing. All the great ideas we have remains in our head. We are not learning in college how to create jobs and build a nation, all we do is talk, we cannot even feed our selves. Nassief have to feed us with rotton chickens from miami. Not even the chicken we can order to sell. All we talk about is politics, who is for and against. You people live in a fools paradise .
If I were Nassief I would sue you for slander. I am not a fan of fast food but I do know that KFC can not just buy its chicken anywhere. I has to be a source approved by the franchisor.
PS. I don’t buy imported chicken anyway but buy local. It costs more but I prefer it. And no, I don’t think that abbatoir will make things better. Govt. already raised prices to make us get used to higher prices from that abattoir, which will be dictated by Govt.
You are not part of that paradise?
You people understands nothing about running a business. Is there any one in Dominica right now that can manage any company with 40 thousand employee , or can you find me one over seas, we cannot even pay the debt that we owe now, because our work force does not generate enough money to do so. You should stop using emotion and stupid politics think. It make sense to sell power right now to the french island to help us pay the notes back , and at the same time we get cheaper power. Where is fountain and the rest of the smart people. We dont even have the brains to put water in a bottle and sell it. We are always waiting for some one to think for us. If we can get some one else to pay the bills that’s good , that would be one of the things we get right.
You are a myopic fool! P.H. Williams alone has more people on the payroll than that. If yiou don’t believe me go and check.
I don’t understand that at all. In 2013 the then Min. of French overseas territories and a friend of Mr. Skerrit, Victor Lurel publicly called the geothermal project in Dominica a “pain”, because of the withdrawal of EDF, who deemed it unprofitable (DNO 16 July, 2013). I remember that in June of that year mr. Skerrit went to Paris for discussions with ADF, who undertook to provide finance for a smaller 15 mw. plant for local use.
If that offer still stands, let’s take it and go ahead on a smaller scale first. That will give us a lot of experience at a much lower cost and at least bring cheaper electricity to our own people.
Still lets give the honorable PM the benefit of the doubt. Even if a smaller unit were to be built that still does not guarantee us cheaper electricity. Whoever invest would want a return on their investment. The only way that it may have been profitable is if we were to sell electricity to our french neighbors. But based on what you are saying (DNO 16 July, 2013) they have already deemed that option unprofitable. I do hope we get a good Samaritan one of our PM’s friends to give it to us for free.
Bro, Skerrit already have the doubt so let me have the benefit.
Hogwash, this project will never prosper under Skerrit dictorship ruling,god is in control,Skerrit demise is coming.
rubbish!!!!!!
our french neighbours are well advanced in their new technology for electricity production.
You might as well take de world bank deal.
we’ve been sitting with our hands between our legs…….waiting for a saviour to give credence to this massive government undertaking!!!!!
$50 million and counting!!!!!!
we should concentrate on local production first.
then you will have to give de guarantee that you will not sacrifice local production (cost) to service another country.
de infrastructure that is necessary to allow such to materialise is not cheap!!!!!!!
putting down underwater infrastructure to sell overseas is not cheap!!!!
you will have to make money on us to finance that!!!!!!
i’m no fool!!!!!!!!!
Be quiet and stop ranting. You are going purely on emotion with little logic.
While what you say makes sense, if you read again you will see that they are focusing on the plant for domestic use first, then they’ll go into export.
This contradicts the GIS press release of 15 May, 2015, which carried a statement from P.M. Roosevelt Skerrit that:”cabinet has decided to contract a U.S.$.50 million loan from the Worldbank to finance the Project”.
If Govt. has already contracted a loan from the Worldbank how can it be possible that now the same Govt. is deciding whether to take a loan for either the French Development Agency or the Worldbank. That does not make sense.Was the P.M. economical with the truth in May and are we now offered an unlikely scenario of having the luxury of choosing between two lenders as an excuse to explain further delay? Or is it simply the case that we have not received a firm offer from either?
There may have been exit clauses in the contract. When you have options, you need not let the other party stack the terms of the contact in their favour.
Hahaha, I’m still looking for mr. Skerrit’s exit clause to rule the country but I guess that does not apply if you are annointed?
Construction on the plant should begin in 2016 and commissioned on completion in 2018.
Very good news indeed.
Nacinimod, you still believe in Father Christmas? I remember vividly when Roosevelt Skerrit signed an agreement with West Indies Power at the Fort Young hotel in 2008 when he said that we could expect first electricity supplies from that source by the end of 2010. All that happened is that he named his second son after the finacial director of that company, Dimitrijus Apokinas, a Dominican citizens and private banker of whom we have lost all track since.