Renewable Energy from Volcanoes to Power Island of St. Lucia
03/08/2010
According to a new study, the Caribbean islands represent one of the perfect location for the development of renewable energy. Qualibou believes that by drilling in the right places, they can build a geothermal plant capable to produce about 150 megawatts of geothermal power.
According to a new study, the Caribbean
islands represent one of the perfect location for the development of renewable
energy.
Unfortunately, there are still countries in the region that
use fossil fuels as the main source of energy. But the volcanic island nation
of St. Lucia
has recently signed a deal with Qualibou Energy Corp. to use the island’s geothermal
energy resources for generating clean energy.
Qualibou believes that by drilling in the right places, they
can build a geothermal plant capable to produce about 150 megawatts of geothermal
power.
For the moment, the company is planning to start drilling
sometime during the next 18 months near Pitons (they represent two of St. Lucia’s
famous volcanic mountains). CEO of Qualibou, Stephen Baker, has assured people
that the drilling and construction of a geothermal power plant in the region does
not disturb the ecosystem.
Currently, St.
Lucia is entirely dependent on oil imports,
but thanks to this geothermal power plant some of that financial tension will
be relieved. When the plant will be ready, the officials of this island will
start selling some of the generated energy to the neighboring island of Martinique.
While the geothermal plant will provide some clean energy to
the island, they will still be reliant on foreign oil to power the rest of the
island’s grid.
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