St. Lucia continues to make progress toward its target of 35% renewables by 2035, says Minister of Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labour, Stephenson King. Current projects underway or in the planning stages include a 12 MW wind farm, a 3.2 PV project and a 30 MW geothermal project.
“We are also hoping that by the year 2023, with the various components of renewable energy – wind, solar and geothermal – that we will be able to achieve at least 50 percent of the target set for 2035,” King told Caribbean News Service (CNS).
King, who spoke with CNS on the sidelines of the 7th Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which ends here on Sunday, said a wind farm, with a potential capacity of 12 MW, is being set up on the island.
In April 2015, residents witnessed the erection of a test tower to help assess the potential for the construction of the wind farm – the first utility scale renewable energy project for the country.
The island is also continuing to work with the World Bank, the government of New Zealand and an Israeli geothermal company (editors note: Ormat as reported by ThinkGeoEnergy) on a long-awaited geothermal project.
“As you know St. Lucia has the sulphur springs and we do have the potential for geothermal energy. What we have not been able to ascertain is the sustainability of that potential and to be integrated into the national grid. However, with the necessary World Bank assistance we are now on the verge, and hopefully later this year, active exploration will proceed to generate at least 30 MW of electricity,” King said.
“There is also a (3.2 MW) solar farm which the utility company is actively engaged in setting up in the south of the country pretty close to the international airport.”
“One of the greatest successes of St. Lucia is the fact that we have been able to bring the utility company, which is not a public-owned corporation, they have come to the table and they are involved. The utility company has certainly come to the table and have been participating in a very meaningful way in all of the discussions and understands its role in the transition from fossil fuels to renewables,” King added.
In preparation for the transition to renewables, King said that a number of private sector entities have taken the initiative to retrofit their infrastructure with PV solar panels and are now cashing in on the benefits of having an energy mix comprising of solar and the fossil fuels-powered generation.
