After renegotiating the power purchase agreement, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has reset the clock for its geothermal project. The commercial operation date is now set for around June 2021, with drilling anticipated to commence in January 2019. “The issue, Mr. Speaker, why we have to push it further is because we took so long on the question of the power purchase agreement,” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told Parliament on May 24 in response to a question from Leader of the Opposition, Godwin Friday. The price will be made public after financial close, but is expected to be below 18 cents/kWh – the top maximum price allowed as specified in the project proposal.
The prime minister said the estimated cost of the project is US$91 million, excluding transmission lines, which are estimated to cost between US$14 and US$16 million. The project will be financed with a debt to equity ratio of 65 per cent to 35 per cent. The plant capacity will be 7.5-10 MW.
