Plans underway for geothermal power generation in Montserrat
Little Bay, Montserrat (source: David Stanley / flick, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
2 Jun 2022
With optimistic recommendations after drilling, the Government of Montserrat will be doing a feasibility study of putting up a binary geothermal power plant.
After drilling three wells and confirming the presence of a geothermal resource, the Government of the Caribbean island of Montserrat will be conducting a feasibility and business case development of putting up a geothermal power plant. This is in line with the recommendations of the Energy Task Force established by the country’s Ministry of Communications, Works, Labour, and Energy (MCWLE).
Efforts to study the geothermal resources in Montserrat were done from 2012 to 2017. This started with the drilling of three wells – MON1, MON2, and MON3. Drilling of these wells cost £12.7 million (approx. USD 15.9 million), funding for which was provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), formerly known as the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The progress of drilling in Montserrat has been well-documented in a series of reports we made from 2013 to 2018.
Despite the collapse of well MON3, data from the two remaining wells supported a capacity of 3 to 4 MW of geothermal energy. This was confirmed by an engagement with top geothermal experts who came to Montserrat to provide commercial proposals for geothermal development in the nation. The results eventually resulted in the recommendation of the MCWLE to pursue the development of a 3-MW geothermal plant that will be operational by the beginning of 2024. The cost of the project was estimated at USD 23.2 million. The full text of the MCWLE report can be accessed here.
Due to the mid-range temperature of the Monstserrat wells, a binary plant system was proposed. Well MON1 will be used for production, while MON2 will be used for reinjection. The site of the proposed power plant will be close to the two wells and on land owned by the Crown.
Part of the proposal was the construction of a transmission line to connect the power plant to the distribution grid. Putting up the line will have a future cost of USD 270k to 350k per kilometer. This is on top of the cost of construction of the geothermal power plant.
With the recommendations of the task force, the Government of Montserrat are now making plans for the next steps:
- Obtain a feasibility study based on well data and landscape configurations for the designs and costing of a power plant
- Develop a business case with cost-benefit analysis of constructing the power plant
- Engage with consultants for the specifications and documentation needed for a Design-Build-Turnkey project
Source: Government of Montserrat
