St. Kitts-Nevis has new Energy Policy Awaiting Cabinet Approval

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique, Jun 26 2015 – The St. Kitts-Nevis government says it is implementing measures aimed at reducing electricity costs to consumers.

Minister of Public Infrastructure, Post, Urban Development and Transport, Ian Liburd told Caribbean News Service (CNS) that an energy policy has been finalised and will shortly be submitted to Cabinet for its ratification.

“We have taken steps as well to establish an energy unit and we will procure consultancy services as it relates to different areas as it relates to renewable energy,” Liburd told CNS during a conference on Island Energy Transitions held here this week.

“At present we have, through the kind auspices of the Republic of China on Taiwan, a consultant who deals specifically with solar energy and so as part of the unit in our energy department we are going to procure the services also of a consultant who deals with geothermal and one who deals with wind energy as well so there is where we are heading as a government.”

The conference here was organised by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the French Government, which will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21, in Paris in November and December this year.

Liburd noted that the twin island Federation country has gone past fossil fuel generation and is now into solar energy with one plant on St. Kitts generating just below 1 megawatt of electricity and another being developed which would produce some point 5 megawatt.

“So in terms of solar we’ll be near production of 1.5 megawatt of renewable energy. So obviously the legislation will have to be revised to accommodate the production of this type of energy and to facilitate what we call feeding tariffs as it relates to the costing of this new type of energy,” Liburd said.

“There are also commercial arrangements with some business centres where they have procured solar panels which feed into the national grid and there’s a system of offsetting the consumption versus their production.

“As a government we are going full speed ahead in relation to ensuring that there’s renewable energy of course where the objective is to reduce electricity costs in St. Kitts and Nevis,” he added.

In late 2013 legislators in Nevis selected Nevis Renewable Energy International (NREI) to develop a geothermal energy project, which they said would eventually eliminate the need for existing diesel-fired electrical generation by replacing it with renewable energy.

“Nevis has gone ahead in terms of the stage they have reached. They have already passed the exploration drilling stage and are looking towards going into the production stage in terms of bringing that steam from below the earth,” Liburd said.

“You are aware that we are blessed with two volcanoes – one on St. Kitts, one on Nevis. It is a blessing in the context of providing renewable energy and reducing our energy cost in that we are looking at developing those resources.

“We on St. Kitts strongly believe, especially the administration, that as a responsible administration we ought to be able to establish what is the potential of our geothermal resource on St. Kitts and how best we can develop that resource so we are going forward in that respect,” Liburd added.

Nevis, the smaller of the two islands is home to active hot springs and a large geothermal reservoir.

Seven volcanic centres have been identified on Nevis and drilling at three sites has indicated that the geothermal reservoir is capable of producing up to 500 megawatts of constant base load power year round.