New York, USA (September 21, 2016) – The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the Government of New Zealand expanded their cooperation in geothermal energy development with the signing of a NZ$ 2.05 million (US$ 1.5 million/EC$ 4 million) Partnership Agreement to support the construction of a 7 MW geothermal power plant in Dominica. The agreement was signed between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Francine Baron of Dominica and Hon. Murray McCully of New Zealand.
Since 2014, the Government of New Zealand has been providing the Government of Dominica with Technical Assistance for the development of Dominica’s geothermal resources.
The new Partnership will expand the technical assistance and be based on an implementation timeframe of 2016 to 2019. It will include:
• Technical advice for the front end engineering and design;
• Project management support to help progress the Project through tendering and award of contracts so that construction can commence;
• An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Management Plan and Management System; and
• A project manager, to be seconded into the Dominica Geothermal Company to coordinate all activities to execute the Project for a period of up to 24 months once the EPC contract has been signed, commencing in 2017 and concluding in 2019.
The assistance from the Government of New Zealand will provide the Government of Dominica with the technical expertise required to realize the construction of the 7 MW geothermal power plant to be commissioned in 2019.
The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica expresses its profound gratitude to the Government of New Zealand for providing critical support to Dominica’s geothermal development efforts and in the country’s economic development.