Parliament convenes on Friday 29th DEC 2023, will Debate Geothermal Plant Guarantee

Office of the Prime Minister 28th December, 2023

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The Dominica Parliament will convene on Friday, 29th December, 2023 at 10: 00 a.m. at the House of Assembly.

Minister for Finance, Economic Development, Climate Resilience, and Social Security, Dr. Irving McIntyre will table a motion for the authorization of a bank guarantee to secure the commitment made in the project financing agreement between the Government of Dominica and Geothermal Power Company of Dominica (2023) Limited, owned by Ormat Technologies, Inc. Ormat Technologies Inc., of Nevada, United States agreed on December 5th, 2023 with the Government of Dominica to finance, build, and operate a 10-megawatt Geothermal Power Plant in Laudat at no cost to the Government.

Under the agreement, the fully operational plant will be transferred to the Government of Dominica after 25 years. The Government of Dominica will seek parliamentary approval to obtain a bank guarantee from the National Bank of Dominica for EC$ 13.5 million to secure the commitment to construct the geothermal Power Plant.

The Government of Dominica is taking final steps towards commercial operations after drilling seven geothermal wells in Laudat, Wotten Waven, and Trafalgar and sourcing a geothermal resources are capable of supporting 10 megawatts of electricity generation in Laudat. The Government has also approved the design for the construction of a new efficient and resilient electricity transmission network from the Roseau Valley to Fond Cole connecting the geothermal power plant to the hydroelectric power plant and to the national grid.

The proceedings of parliament will be broadcast live via the Government Information Service (GIS) and the Dominica Broadcasting Station (DBS).