WorldWide Drilling Resource

Grenada Makes Progress with Geothermal Exploration Adapted from Information Provided by the Government of Grenada The Geothermal Support Partnership Framework Agreement, which was signed in 2014, has recently facilitated the following efforts aimed toward the exploration and eventual use of the country’s geothermal energy: the review of previous studies; the mission of taking copious geochemical, geophysical, and geological surveys; scrutiny of institutional, legislative, and regulatory structures in regards to any potential projects; and early analysis of infrastructural capacity as far as access of equipment to any plausible exploration sites. These are the latest steps taken to examine Grenada’s geothermal suitability. In July 2015, at the Grenada Geothermal Partner’s Forum, the suspected existence of a high temperature geothermal reservoir was validated north of Mount Saint Catherine. The reservoir itself is approximately 2 to 5 miles in depth, with expected temperatures ranging from 428ºF to 4352ºF (220ºC to 2400ºC) - or even higher. If this informa- tion is correct, between 15 to 20 megawatts of power could possibly be generated. Inside the first quarter of 2016, ex- perts from both the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Jacobs New Zealand Limited completed three more tasks necessary to the project: the second geoscience report on the status of geothermal resources; a geothermal re- sources roadmap, and a preliminary civil engineering survey. They also conducted meetings with officials from the Ministries of Finance and Energy, Works, Health, and Agriculture, as well as members of the statutory organizations whose work in- volve environmental and social concerns relating to the geothermal process. InApril, Aoiki Issei (deputy director for JICA in Central America and the Caribbean) and his deputy, Nakayama Shun, visited Grenada and conducted meetings with environmental and social stakeholders. They also met with the permanent sec- retary and other senior officials within the Ministry of Finance, monitoring the development of Grenada’s geothermal initiative. The exchange of information resulted in the decision to soon host a broad-based geothermal forum. To date, the equivalent of over $1 million U.S. dollars has been spent on this project. Grenada’s government is more than willing to accept the bilateral cooperation and technical assistance of friendly gov- ernments. 53 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® AUGUST 2016 In our youth, we want to change the world; in old age, we want to change youth. What Mother Nature gives us, Father Time takes away.