Study to explore closed-loop option for St. Vincent geothermal project

View over Soufriere, St. Lucia, Caribbean (source: flickr/ donnierayjones, creative commons)

As part of a political debate, news emerge of plans to revive a halted geothermal project in St. Vincent & the Grenadines in the Caribbean.

The geothermal project in this Caribbean island state was halted in 2019, after insufficient permeability made it unfeasible to continue with development, and the potential to use a closed-loop development approach by Canadian Eavor Technologies was considered.

During a session last week, Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, said that this government proposed to “continue attempts to turn setbacks into advances, as we seek to sustainably utilise the tremendous geothermal resources of La Soufriere”, so iWitness News.

According to the news, the government has entered into a joint project development agreement with Canadian Eavor Technologies, on the application of its closed-loop geothermal energy extraction system that could be an option to revive the geothermal project.

“Eavor, at its own cost, is conducting a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study, which will assess the geological data, evaluate the impact of the recent volcanic eruptions, develop preliminary powerplant designs, meet with stakeholders and establish capital cost estimates,” the minister said.

It is expected that Eavor will know more around the middle of 2022, if the La Soufriere site is feasibility for its technology.

The government is hopeful that the study will bring positive results, helping the island state to have stable, affordable, green and baseload power.

Source: iWitnessNews