The World Bank says it will provide more than US$17 million towards the development of a geothermal plant for Dominica.
The bank’s Operations Officer, Karlene Francis, speaking at the launch of the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD) on Friday, said the Washington-based financial institution is committed to assisting the hurricane battered island in its drive to promote the use of renewable and resilient energy.
Dominica has already announced plans to establish a seven megawatt geothermal plant that is estimated to cost US$40 million.
“The bank is also working with the Dominica Geothermal Development Company to prepare a geothermal risk mitigation project,” she said, adding it will support the development of a seven megawatt geothermal power plant that will displace diesel generation and reduce electricity costs in the country.
“Geothermal energy is extremely resilient and consistent with the government’s strategy. We acknowledge the strong partnership with a number of donors including the government of New Zealand . . . which have joined the efforts to co-finance the project valued at US$48 million of which US$17.2 million will be funded by the World Bank”.
She said the World Bank is working in strong collaboration with other development partners to reduce the burden and transaction costs on the country by moving more to partnerships.
“In this context CREAD is a step in the right direction to coordinate all the projects, no matter the financier,” Francis said.
