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February 29, 200
bron Saba News Agency
Commissioners Chris Johnson and Bruce Zagers are spending Thursday to Sunday
on Nevis to have a closer look at the geothermal drilling activity being carried out
there by West Indies Power Holdings.
The commissioners said that the company had
visited Saba late last year, and were optimistic that Saba had potential to produce
enough thermal power to supply its own needs and to export. The advantage of thermal
power over solar or windgenerated energy is that it is inexhaustible and not
weather-dependent. On Thursday, the Saban politicians visited the drilling site and
held discussions with company representatives and with their Nevisian government
counterparts. Today, Friday, they will meet for an information exchange with a group
from the US Virgin Islands that is visiting Nevis for their own consultations.
According to the commissioners, Saba has a high potential to produce thermal energy
due to its favourable placement on the edge of the Caribbean tectonic plate. Saba
currently consumes 2.3 megawatts at peak, and thermal production could possibly be
as much as 100 to 500 megawatts. Commissioner Zagers, who holds the finance
portfolio, had said that the operation would only be viable if Saba could produce
excess for export. "The operation would not be a viable investment if we can only
cover Saba's needs," he explained.
Commissioner Johnson said the project has already
been discussed in the Executive Council and with the Netherlands, since all parties
must be informed, given pending constitutional changes. The huge project would be
carried out in two phases: exploration followed by exploitation. It is under
discussion to have West Indies Power arrive on Saba in April to start test drilling,
after they have completed the current work on Nevis. A site under consideration is
in the area of Tent Bay, which would be non-intrusive and convenient since it is
near the GEBE power plant. Implementation costs are high since the steam and water,
which create the power, is full of minerals and must be contained in stainless steel
or titanium equipment to reduce corrosive action. Geothermal energy is combustion
free and, therefore, does not produce smoke, but only water vapour.
West Indies
Power Holdings is a Caribbean-based independent power producer specialising in the
development and operation of geothermal power plants and their off-shoots, and is
owned by Caribbean and European shareholders.
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