ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—The Grenada authorities has welcomed the British authorities’s dedication to spend £10 million(One British Pound = 1.26 cents) to assist the nation’s targets of local weather resilience and sustainable electrical energy era.
London mentioned the funding goals to cut back Grenada’s reliance on costly imported fossil fuels and decrease power prices for companies and residents.
It mentioned that the brand new funding provides to the UK’s £19.3 million funding in a renewable power initiative throughout six Caribbean nations to advertise greener, extra inexpensive power options.
“We’re grateful for the UK’s assist in advancing our geothermal exploration venture. This funding will permit us to evaluate Grenada’s geothermal potential and take additional steps in the direction of constructing a clear, sustainable, and extra inexpensive power system for our nation,” mentioned Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, including, “We’re excited in regards to the potentialities that this venture holds for our nation’s future.”
The UK Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Baroness Chapman, introduced the funding: “It’s supporting Grenada’s efforts to cut back its resilience to fossil fuels and transition to a extra sustainable, regionally sourced power future.
“The funding in geothermal power won’t solely assist to decrease power prices for households and companies however may even result in decrease carbon emissions, a vital step in tackling the local weather disaster all of us face.
“This is a vital a part of the UK authorities’s dedication to supporting the Caribbean area in its journey in the direction of inexperienced power adoption and local weather resilience,” she added.
London mentioned that the funding comes at a vital time. Caribbean nations are closely reliant on costly imported fossil fuels to satisfy their power wants, and the common Caribbean shopper pays double the speed of these in america.
It mentioned that the financial burden of those imports hinders their development and resiliency efforts, leaving nations similar to Grenada susceptible to exterior shocks.
London mentioned the monetary dedication will assist alleviate this dependency, permitting Grenada to maneuver in the direction of a extra sustainable, cost-effective, and regionally sourced power resolution. Geothermal power has huge untapped potential, however the excessive upfront price of exploring and testing geothermal assets continues to discourage personal funding. Because of this, public funding is crucial to kickstart these tasks.
“The £10 million funding will fund a crucial evaluation of the geothermal useful resource testing, together with drilling rotary exploratory wells that may significantly enhance the possibilities of profitable exploration.”
The British authorities mentioned profitable exploration might unlock the potential for personal sector funding in a geothermal energy plant. This plant can probably displace 55% of the nation’s complete electrical energy era from diesel, enhancing power safety and reducing tariffs for companies and residents.
“The UK continues to face by its dedication to be a world champion for a low carbon future with local weather, nature, and clear power on the coronary heart of UK international coverage. Partnerships like this can drive progress on the worldwide ambition wanted to maintain international warming to not more than 1.5 levels as known as for by the Paris Local weather Settlement.”
The UK mentioned it has already offered £19.3 million to the renewable power program within the Caribbean since 2015, which has straight supported renewable power and power effectivity initiatives in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), St. Lucia and Grenada.
