Eustace supports geothermal project

Leader of the Opposition, Arnhim Eustace, says he agrees that a geothermal project can bring a number of positive benefits to the country.{{more}}

Speaking during the budget debate on Tuesday, Eustace said, however, he wants the project to go through the right channels in order to fully reap the potential benefits.

“More and cheaper electricity will stimulate more foreign business. This should assist, and I agree with that, because it has already brought up the issue of competitiveness,” Eustace said.

“We want to see this thing satisfied because I know it will go a long way to improve competitiveness and enterprise in

St Vincent and the Grenadines,” the leader of the opposition said.

“It is easy to talk about what you want to do, the question is, what is the action required.”

He referred to a document, produced by the government, with a list of proposed actions to be taken.

“These were not recommendations, they were actions to be taken,” Eustace explained.

He went on to say that 35 of the 40 items to be completed were to be done in the short term, but three years later only 20 per cent had been addressed.

Geothermal energy was among the items to be addressed, but there was a hiccup in the project after the Government, in 2009, met with a team and signed a formal agreement to begin digging.

But, Eustace said, this was not done because the geothermal energy company was not genuine.

The company, he said, had tricked the prime minister.

“The point is if the government had done 15 minutes of searching, a red flag would have been raised,” Eustace said.

He further advised that such a project requires knowledge and technical experience.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves at an October 2012 press conference announced that representatives from two reputable international geothermal companies were expected to visit the country that year.

The prime minister said the representatives from Emera, a North American company, and, Reykjavik, which had been supplying geothermal energy to Iceland for years, were expected to meet here. (DD)