BRADES, Montserrat, February 8th, 2012 – The Government of Montserrat is inviting expressions of interests for the development of geothermal here.

An announcement from the Ministry of Communications & Works said the government was willing to entertain sound proposals from the private sector, which would provide a reliable source of energy for the island and equitable benefits for the people of Montserrat.

The full text of the announcement follows:
“The Government of Montserrat wishes to explore private sector interest in the confirmation and development of the potential geothermal resource on the Island. While surface exploration has been undertaken, no drilling has been carried out so, despite encouraging indications that a geothermal resource exists, this potential has yet to be proven.

The current electricity demand on the island, which has a peak of under 2MW, is met with diesel generation and while a programme is underway to replace the existing ageing high speed units, the early displacement of the need for continued expensive diesel generation is of key interest.

“The request for EOIs will seek an outline of interest for development from entities that are willing to finance and undertake the drilling phase to prove the existence of an exploitable resource.  If a resource is proven then the executing entity would be provided the opportunity to install an appropriate generation facility to meet the island’s current and anticipated electricity demand. 

“The inherent project risks of any geothermal development are recognised; the GoM is willing to entertain sound and reasonably structured proposals; such offers should be from groups with established geothermal experience; proposals should be attractive to the private sector whilst providing equitable benefits for Montserrat, delivering a reliable and realistically priced supply of electricity.

“The ability for those expressing interest in this project to demonstrate that they have existing sources of finance to undertake the drilling phase of the development is of key importance.

“If the GoM determines that this request for EOI does not yield any offers that meet the above requirements, it is their intention to seek public funding to proceed with the drilling phase of the project.

“Existing documents covering the exploration of the geothermal resources on Montserrat are available at http://www.gov.ms/publications/Final_Report_Geothermal_Exploration_In_Montserrat.pdf .  It is intended that the formal EOI will be provided to suitable applicants in due course.

“If you are interested in receiving the full EOI request, please confirm the appropriate contact details for receipt of this invitation. If there are others who may be interested please forward this preliminary advice to them. It is anticipated that a full EOI request will be circulated in the week beginning February 06, 2012.

“Organisations wishing to register an interest in receiving the formal EOI documentation should send an e-mail to beardsleyr@gov.ms and copy to mike.allen@xtra.co.nz,” the announcement ends.
  

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