Nevis 1 Geothermal Drill Site
Charlestown, Nevis
July 14, 2008
Federal Minister with responsibility for Housing, Agriculture, Fisheries and Co-operatives Hon. Cedric Liburd, added to the praise showered on the Nevis Island Administration for its decision to explore the island’s geothermal resources, while he was on an official visit to Nevis on July 11, 2008.
The Minister, who was hosted by Hon Robelto Hector, got a first hand view of the ongoing geothermal explorations at Spring Hill and upper Jessups and registered his satisfaction with the project’s progress.
“I want to commend the NIA the government of Nevis for the work that is being done and I do hope that this project will now help us to combat the serious oil prices that we have in the world and more so that is affecting the small island states like St. Kitts and Nevis. I believe that this is what we need to do in order to challenge the people who own the oil and who are really causing serious problems throughout the world and therefore I want to commend the NIA and I am looking forward for the implementation of this project.
“I visited both sites for the geothermal and the work that is going on and I am really impressed and I am advised that the way things are going here that we can definitely see some movement and some completion and some way where St. Kitts and Nevis could be using geothermal during the year 2009 and I am really pleased with what is happening,” he said.
Both Ministers toured the operations Nevis 2 in Upper Jessups, the second site since drilling commenced in 2007. They were accompanied by West Indies Power’s (WIP) Chief Executive Officer Mr. Kerry McDonald, who indicated that the site’s initial indications were good.
“What we are doing here is we are expanding the reserve from Nevis 1 and at this same depth at Nevis 1 at 827[feet], was 10degrees Celsius cooler. The first start is certainly looking good.
“Hopefully this will be shallow and we won’t have to drill as much and it will be less costly but if we find that it is the same chemistry, the same temperature pretty much at the same depth you could say these two are related and if these two are related you are talking about 300 mega watts,” he said. Drilling at the Nevis 1 site ended at a depth of 3720 feet.
Mr. McDonald also explained that once drilling was completed at Nevis 2 the operations would move about 1 1/2 miles away to Upper Hamilton.
He said that the plant for Nevis 1 was at its design stage and also the underwater cable and the geotechnical holes would be drilled by a St. Kitts firm to check the ground for the turbines. Construction he said was expected in October 2008 with generation for Nevis and St. Kitts by the end of 2009.