St. Kitts and Nevis
NEP/SEP * Wind Energy * Geothermal * Bio-fuel
At the Mauritius International Meeting held in January 2005, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis expressed interest in his country's moving toward renewable energy goals, and he has directed his Planning office to formally make arrangements for a process for sustainable energy planning.
GSEII partners initially expanded their work to St. Kitts & Nevis through the Eastern Caribbean Geothermal Development Project, or the "Geo-Caraïbes." Led by the Organization of American States, the project seeks to overcome barriers to the development of geothermal power in the Eastern Caribbean. Now, GSEII consortium members have a range of different projects on the islands, as outlined in the project profiles below.
St. Kitts & Nevis Project Profiles
Development of National Energy Policy and Sustainable Energy Plans
Purpose: Through the OAS Caribbean Sustainable Energy Program (CSEP), GSEII is working with the local government to develop a long term national energy policy and shorter term sustainable energy plans for the nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Description and Update: As of 2006, GSEII consortium members with UNIDO drafted a sustainable energy plan with local stakeholders. Though the government position on a long-term policy remains unclear, it seems more and more likely that the development of geothermal and wind power will eventually prove to be key factors in a policy.
Wind Energy Development
Purpose: St. Kitts and Nevis, along with the other Caribbean nations, has the potential to rely almost exclusively on renewable wind energy for all its electricity needs. With the help of GSEII consortium members, it may be feasible to turn St. Kitts into the leading Caribbean nation for wind energy. The goal of this project is to help facilitate conversation between the Nevis Island Authority (NIA) and private developers for the commission of a wind farm with up to 10 MW capacity.
Description: In fall 2007, German aid organization GTZ installed wind monitoring equipment to develop a wind resource map. Simultaneously, the Organization of American States received several inquiries by private companies regarding exploring wind projects. In spring 2008, private wind developers negotiated with the NIA on details of a power purchase agreement for the development of a 1,100 KW wind park. OAS verified the wind resource assessment based on a one-year wind database.
Update: In late summer of 2010, the 1.1 MW wind farm, coordinated by OAS, was finally opened and operational in St. Nevis.
Geothermal Energy Development
Geothermal Energy in the Caribbean Case Study (PDF)
Purpose: GSEII's original interest in the nation of St. Kitts and Nevis lay in its potential as a site for geothermal energy development. Through the OAS Geo-Caraibes project, GSEII has worked on the island of Nevis to explore geothermal potential. This project, if successful, will allow St. Kitts and Nevis to lead the way in renewable energy through geothermal resources.
Description: In 2008, using information from the OAS presfeasibility study of geothermal potential on Nevis from 2006, West Indies Power, Ltd. Conducted exploratory drilling and confirmed the existence of geothermal sites whose energy could be harvested. GSEII legal experts worked with NIA soon afterwards to draft the Geothermal Resource Bill and a draft Power Purchase Agreement for arrangement between a developer and the NIA. In April 2009, NIA issued a geothermal resource concession to West Indies Power, allowing the company to develop and produce electricity using geothermal resources. A 25 year Power Purchase Agreement was signed by West Indies Power and NEVLEC for 10 MW of electric power, which OAS helped broker. Further, the island of Nevis hosted the first two-week Eastern Caribbean Geothermal Conference in June 2009.
Update: Although the project was temporarily put on hold through 2010, work is slated to begin in early 2011 and West Indies Power Ltd. promises to begin delivering power no later than the end of 2011.
Domestic Bio-Energy (Sugarcane) Program
Biomass to Energy in St. Kitts and Nevis GSEII Case Study
Purpose: In 2004, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis closed its sugarcane industry due to steady financial losses that had occurred over a twenty year period. This event was particularly unfortunate in light of the important role the industry had played in the social and economic development of the nation. Sugarcane is useful for the generation of energy in several ways. Fermenting the sugar will create ethanol, which has potential for powering transportation on the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. Similarly, bagasse, the biomass remaining after the sugar is extracted from the cane, may be used as feedstock for other energy production or cogeneration. The GSEII team, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, and other agencies are currently investigating the potential for reviving the sugarcane industry, diversifying it to renew sugar production and generate energy for the nation.
Description: In 2006-2007, GSEII worked with the Energy Security Group and the Organization of American States to assess biomass to ethanol and biomass to electricity energy systems on St. Kitts and Nevis. It was determined that in the biomass to ethanol scenario, St. Kitts & Nevis would have to produce more sugar than it could use to produce efficiently but costs would be too high to generate export demand. It was thus recommended that the government pursue biomass to electricity options. After an energy stakeholder consultation in which assessment finding were formally presented to the government of St. Kitts & Nevis, a land use mapping and agricultural lands assessment was done to find areas suitable for growth of the biomass.
Update: In the fall of 2007, negotiations were in progress between SK&N and a private developer for a 10 MW pyrolysis system to convert crops and waste to syngas, bio-oil and char. GSEII is assisted the government in defining sustainability and assuring good environmental and economic decisions regarding these negotiations. However, as of 2008, progress was put on hold because the area available for sugarcane production to facilitate a biomass to energy system fell below the minimum required acreage. Until sugarcane production exceeds this minimum, it is unlikely that sugarcane production could feasibly power energy on St. Kitts and Nevis.
GSEII Events in St. Kitts & Nevis
June 2006. St. Kitts and Nevis Sustainable Energy Plan Stakeholders Meeting