| Title | Geothermal Exploration on the Island of St. Vincent, West Indies - A Country Update |
|---|---|
| Authors | Melissa Anne DE FREITAS, Gestur GÃSLASON, Hjálmar EYSTEINSSON, Chelsea CERVANTES |
| Year | 2020 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | St. Vincent, Caribbean, geothermal exploration, country update, La Soufrière, geophysics, geochemistry |
| Abstract | St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a volcanic island located along the Lesser Antilles volcanic island arc. The La Soufrière volcano dominates the northern half of the island and is one of the most active volcanos in the Caribbean. The need for energy security has prompted the Government of St. Vincent to explore its indigenous energy resources. In 2013 Reykjavik Geothermal and Light & Power Holdings consortium (RG/LPH) signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of St. Vincent to conduct a geothermal survey aimed at developing its geothermal resources for electricity production. Geothermal exploration conducted at La Soufrière was completed in 2015 with emphasis on structural geology, volcanology, geochemical interpretation and resistivity surveys. These studies detected areas of geothermal potential on the south-west and south-east flanks of the La Soufrière volcano. A joint interpretation of magnetotelluric (MT) and transient electromagnetic survey (TEM) revealed a resistivity structure that is consistent with the expected structure of high-enthalpy geothermal systems worldwide, namely low resistivity clay cap zone underlined by higher resistivity reservoir. This interpretation is supported by geochemical surveys which suggest reservoir temperatures in excess of 200 °C. A recent volumetric assessment has indicated with a 90% probability that the potential geothermal system at La Soufrière- St. Vincent is capable of sustaining a power plant with a capacity of up to 160 MWe for 30 years. The recent success in geothermal exploration has brought the country to the next phase of its Geothermal Developmental Project - exploratory drilling, and subsequently, the construction of a 10-12 MWe geothermal power plant. The first three production wells are planned in 2019 and their result will be discussed. |