Dominica’s geothermal project is set to deliver power to the island as well as to form the foundation for a large-scale green hydrogen complex.
Geothermal energy development on the Caribbean island, underway for over a decade, has got a significant boost with the proposal to develop an industrial-scale green hydrogen complex.
An agreement between the government of Dominica, its geothermal development vehicle Dominica Geothermal Development Company and Trinidad and Tobago-based green project developer Kenesjay Green signed in April paves the way for a joint venture company to undertake the development.
The initial focus of the jv will be on activities to de-risk the project, including sharing of technical resources and capabilities, progressing the bankability of the project and engineering, environment, marketability and other feasibility studies.
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Subsequent to that an investment framework for the project will be developed, which will guide the development of a special purpose vehicle to deliver the project.
The proposed size of the project, which would be in the northern geothermal zone near Portsmouth in the north of the island, is between 20MW to 250MW, with the potential for expansion up to 400MW, and the production of 27,000t to 30,000t/year of green hydrogen and 150t to 160t/year of green ammonia.
The green hydrogen and ammonia as well as other by-products is envisaged for both the local and export markets.
The project also is envisaged to form the cornerstone of the proposed ‘Green eco industrial park’ as a location to attract local and international business entities in climate resilience and mitigation activities.
Dominica is to some the northernmost of the Windward Islands or to others the southernmost of the Leeward Islands, about 750km2 in extent. Like others in the chain, it is mountainous due to its olcanic origin and has an estimated geothermal potential of at least 1GW.
The first geothermal development now getting under way is in the Roseau Valley on the outskirts of the capital on the southwest coast.
The proposed plant is 10MW and could be completed within 18 months. In addition to power for Dominica, sufficient for about 23,000 homes, exports are possible to its immediate neighbours Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south.
Currently at the time of writing tenders are out for developments on new transmission lines and upgrades to the distribution networks to connect and supply power from the plant.
Green hydrogen in the Caribbean
While several of the Caribbean nations are investigating geothermal energy as a renewable option – for example, a development is under way on Nevis – so far the only other green hydrogen development in the region is in Trinidad and Tobago, which has published a roadmap and where Kenesjay Green initiated the NewGen development of an indstrial-scale green hydrogen plant to supply to the local ammonia production facility.
Earlier this year in April, 70% of the NewGen project was acquired by the French hydrogen power developer HDF Energy.
While none of the Caribbean islands is likely to become significant global exporters of green hydrogen due to their size, for some the commodity nevertheless has the potential to become a new important component of economic development alongside traditional tourism and rum production among others.