ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) – The Dominican government says the construction of the 10-megawatt geothermal power plant, expected to be the first of its kind in the Caribbean Community (Caricom), is on target to be completed by Christmas this year.

“A lot of work is taking place. We are really on our way to constructing our 10-megawatt geothermal power plant. Currently, most of the equipment [has] been brought on-site. We had a vessel in port over a week ago,” said Dominica’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy, Dr Vince Henderson.

The Dominica Geothermal Development Company (DGDC), the public-private partnership driving the power project, said that by harnessing the Nature Isle’s volcanic potential, the facility, located at Laudat, a small village in the interior of Dominica, promises to significantly reduce fossil fuel dependency while providing stable, clean energy to an estimated 23,000 Dominican homes.
“We are moving on pretty well, and I’m very, very, very happy and feel confident that we’ll be able to get this done in time,” Henderson said.

The commissioning of the Laudat plant is expected to be an early milestone in the OECS Decade of Action for Sustainable Energy Development, launched in February.

The goal is to ensure that at least 30 per cent of the region’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2035, though several member states have pledged to ramp up to full green power by then.

Dominica is one of five member states in the OECS GEOBUILD Programme which is advancing geothermal energy in the Eastern Caribbean. Supported by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the St Lucia-based OECS Commission is also working to build capacity in Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines to explore and develop the region’s vast geothermal potential.

The programme works to bring economic and environmental benefits beyond electric power generation, contributing to the sustainable development of the region. It is supported by the CDB, the European Union Caribbean Investment Facility and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Henderson said that the Laudat project has reached critical milestones, including the installation of key infrastructure components.

“We’ve seen the installation now of the cooling system, which is a huge radiator-type system with cooling towers at the top. The construction of the metal frame took place a few weeks ago, and we’ve seen the installation of the heaviest part of the entire power plant,” he added.

Ormat Technologies Inc., which is building and will eventually operate the power plant, will be constructing 10 kilometres of transmission lines with substations starting from Laudat into Fond Cole on the outskirts of the capital, where the power will be integrated into the national grid.