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Minister of Communications and Natural Resources in the Nevis Island Administration Hon. Carlisle Powell
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Minister of Communications and Natural Resources in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), Hon. Carlisle Powell and General Manager of West Indies Power (WIP) Nevis Ltd. Mr. Rawlinson Isaac, pitched their plan of selling a supply of geothermal energy produced in Nevis to the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The presentation was broadcast live on radio and television in the USVI on Wednesday.
Appearing before the USVI Senate’s Economic Development, Energy and Technology Committee, Hon. Carlisle Powell and Mr. Rawlinson Isaac presented a detailed display and proposal of the geothermal power initiative ongoing on Nevis.
“The production of geothermal energy in Nevis is expected to be from mid - 2010 and WIP is expected to produce all of the electricity used on Nevis,” said Minister Powell.
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| General Manager of West Indies Power Nevis Ltd. Mr. Rawlinson Isaac |
The Water and Power Authority (WAPA) in the USVI has begun exploring various renewable energy solutions that may be available to help the WAPA meet their demands. They are in the process of finalizing the selection of renewable energy contractors that would generate a portion of the electricity used by the islands.
Minister Powell told the Senators that the most realistic way of meeting their goal was to secure a reliable supply of clean, renewable geothermal energy which could be obtained from Nevis at a significantly less expensive rate.
“Studies have been done more than 10 years ago by the U.S Energy Department and the Organization of America States indicated that Nevis has the potential to produce 900 megawatts of electricity using geothermal power,” commented Mr. Powell.
It was also stated by Mr. Isaac in his presentation that by 2014, underwater cables would be in place to transport a supply of geothermal energy to the U.S Virgin Islands from Nevis.
Mr. Isaac also said that Nevis used about nine megawatts of power at peak times and therefore WIP hoped to sell the rest of what it produced to other Caribbean islands.
He said he believed that Nevis could sell electricity to the Virgin Islands at an inexpensive rate and he encouraged the Senators to take a close look at the proposal because the potential of geothermal was real.
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