NIA’s work in renewable energy made Nevis a beacon in international community

Minister responsible for Renewable Energy and the Environment on Nevis Hon. Carlisle Powell addressing colleagues moments after he assumed Chairmanship of the Environmental Policy Committee of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Ministers at a meeting in Nevis in October

NEVIS (December 10, 2010) — Minister responsible for Renewable Energy and the Environment on Nevis Hon. Carlisle Powell, said on Thursday that the Nevis Island Administration’s work in renewable energy has made Nevis a beacon not only on Nevis and in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) but in the international community.

The comment came at a sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly. He said the World Bank Caribbean Interconnect study and report was largely based on harnessing geothermal power from places like Nevis and transmitting it to places like Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Mr. Powell explained that while attending a conference in the Bahamas, Mr. McClintock Secretary of States for Puerto Rico said they are closely monitoring the progress of the project on Nevis.

“They want Nevis to succeed because they would like to buy as much as 400MW of power from us. The eyes of the world are on us and everybody except the Opposition in Nevis wishes the geothermal project well. Nevis did not gain the chairmanship of the Environmental Policy Committee of the OECS Ministers because people like us or me, it must have something to do with our outstanding work in the area of renewable energy…

“We cannot stop now, we cannot roll back our gains now and we cannot go back to the secretive controlling days…The revolutionary cry of people like Maurice Bishop must be echoed ‘Forward ever, backward never’,” he said.

He said Nevis under a Nevis Reformation Party-led Nevis Island Administration, had boldly stepped out as a leader in the field of Renewable energy and its resolve to develop geothermal energy remained unshaken.

“Madame President, geothermal is too important for us to play politics with. Geothermal will provide a stable, reliable, efficient, green, cheap source of base load power for us.

“It is therefore a mystery for me why the Opposition would consistently try to misinform the public while hoping that geothermal fails under NRP. If geothermal fails, Nevis fails and the region fails,” he said.

With regard to wind energy, he reiterated that Nevis led the way in the OECS and used the opportunity to congratulate the developers WindWatt specifically the Burditts and their local representatives the Bowrins for their vision and the confidence they had placed in the government.