Dominica leads new power surge

Dominica’s government is set to harness its natural resources to generate clean electricity for its 66,000 residents and growing tourism sector. Electricity bills are exceptionally high in the Caribbean generally but Dominica may have found the answer by using its natural resources to harness cheaper power.

With rainforests, waterfalls, volcanoes and hot springs, Dominica’s dramatic landscape is a haven for adventure-seeking eco-tourists. And also ideal for low-cost electricity.

It attracted 84,000 visitors last year, a 13% rise from 2023. That is likely to rise with an increase in new direct flights from the US, and the opening of more hotels. The ‘Nature Island’ has pretty much recovered from the extensive damage caused by 2017’s Hurricane Maria.

To end the country’s long reliance on generators fuelled by imported diesel, a geothermal power station is being built in the south. It will access the boiling hot water, contained in natural underground reservoirs that are heated by the surrounding volcanic rock. The 10-megawatt plant, under construction near the village of Laudat in the lush Roseau Valley, is expected to become operational by the end of the year.

“We hope to totally eliminate the need for diesel generation for electricity in Dominica by 2030,” Dominica’s energy minister Dr Vince Henderson tells the BBC. The government also says that the geothermal plant will reduce electricity bills. Dr Henderson admits that the project is “not easy” for a country that “faced a big challenge” when it had to substantially repair its electricity network after Maria. But he insists “it will be worth it in the end”.

Neighbouring islands are set to benefit too. Long-term plans include exporting surplus electricity via undersea cables around the region. Dominica’s geothermal plant will be just the second in the Caribbean. Guadeloupe has had a 15-megawatt station in operation for three decades. The Roseau Valley facility is being created through a public-private partnership between the Dominican government and US-Israeli renewable energy company Ormat Technologies. A common fear about geothermal plants is the potential for triggering earthquakes. Ormat says it has never had a such an incident in its many years of operations.

It is costing tens of millions of US dollars, partially funded by grants and investments from several governments, including the US, UK, Japan and New Zealand.