PRIME MINISTER DREW OUTLINES NEW PATH FOR DEVELOPING RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 08, 2025 (SKNIS): The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is advancing its renewable energy strategy with Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, offering new updates on Tuesday (January 07, 2025).At the Roundtable media engagement, the prime minister shared that the government has reached an agreement with the Republic of China (Taiwan) to spearhead the development of a 50-megawatt solar farm. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

This development is particularly significant following the failure of a previous agreement with a private partner to meet critical contractual obligations, requirements, and deadlines, to facilitate a Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Project. The failure of the agreement was announced by the St. Kitts Electricity Company Ltd on December 09, 2024.

Prime Minister Drew also delivered important news on the development of geothermal in the Federation.“We have sourced the funding for the drilling of geothermal, so based on where we are at right now, geothermal drilling of those initial wells is on track,” he stated.The development of renewable sources are important to fuel the government’s transformation of the Federation to a Sustainable Island State and power economic development.“We have to drive down the cost of energy to attract additional industry,” Dr. Drew stated, noting that manufacturing companies and technology businesses are generally energy-intensive.

“Even in the tourism industry. The cruise ships are asking for onshore power. The country that can provide onshore power sooner will have the advantage in tourism, … so energy will have direct and indirect benefits for our country and that is why we are pushing so heavily on the solar plant and geothermal.”Households are also included in the renewable energy strategy as some housing projects are expected to feature solar panels. This will help to drive down the cost of electricity for residents and reduce the demand on the national power grid. A feed-in tariff is being developed to determine an appropriate rate that guarantees a fixed price for renewable electricity sold to the electric grid by households and companies.