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Island Geothermal – An Untapped Resource?

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Description:

The WIRE Network as part of its strategy to expand its reach, has committed to forging partnerships and focussing on thematic areas within the renewable energy space, relevant to the needs of the islands. One such thematic area is the development of Geothermal Energy. Geothermal energy can single-handedly transform the energy sectors of the volcanic islands. However, challenges in the development streams of geothermal energy, due to a myriad of challenges, has plagued the islands.
Women are underrepresented in energy fields globally, and island nations are no exception. Gender diversity as a key strategy to overcoming the recurring challenges of geothermal development and cannot be underestimated. This hinges on the fact that having both women and men involved brings diversity into leadership and professional solutions.
For the two aforementioned reasons, an all-female, WIRE coordinated panel seeks to bring a new perspective to geothermal development.

The one of the main objectives of this panel is to facilitate a dialogue that highlights the lessons learnt and proven solutions to geothermal energy, a game changer and transformative tool within the energy sector in the Caribbean. The panel may therefore consist of fruitful and thought evoking dialogue on the following discussion points:

  • The critical role of geothermal energy in the transformation of the energy sector of islands
  • The major lessons learnt by select islands through their resource development, for example Dominica and St Lucia
  • Effective and contextual means of overcoming the stubborn challenges associated with geothermal energy development
  • Ideal economic and business models surrounding geothermal development that would benefit key stakeholders including utilities, governments, and civil society
  • The benefit of a regional approach to geothermal development
  • How value added applications of geothermal energy can serve as a catalyst to the development of the resource. (Direct use applications)
  • Geothermal energy and resilience
  • Selling of geothermal power among islands
  • What framework do utilities, project developers, regulators and governments need in place for successful geothermal projects?
  • Which specific elements must be addressed, or where do we turn for help?

Session Speakers:

SIANA TEELUCKSINGH

Renewable Energy Consultant, Clinton Climate Initiative

Siana Teelucksingh is a Renewable Energy Consultant. Siana focuses on bringing clean, affordable energy to the people of island nations. For the past four years she has supported the Clinton Climate Initiative and Rocky Mountain Institute’s Islands Energy Program. Siana has facilitated multi-stakeholder processes for decision making with island governments and utilities in St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Dominica and Mauritius on a variety of programmes including integrated planning, power flow analysis and derisking projects.

Siana previously worked at a renewable energy start-up company in Trinidad, where she was a consultant to the Government of T&T for a feasibility study of the manufacture of solar panels from regionally sourced raw materials.

Siana obtained her MSc. in Sustainable Energy Futures from Imperial College London. Siana started her career in energy as a geoscientist at bpTT, working on resource development, petroleum systems and reservoir characterization.

Siana Teelucksingh

Renewable Energy Consultant, Clinton Climate Initiative

JUDITH EPHRAIM

Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Energy Unit at Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission

Judith Ephraim joined the Sustainable Energy Unit at the OECS Commission in July 2015. Prior to that she served as the Chief Energy, Science and Technology Officer of the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology in Saint Lucia. Over the past 14 years, Ms Ephraim has worked on a number of portfolios in the Government of Saint Lucia including, Sustainable Energy, Science and Technology, Climate Change and Hazard/ Disaster mitigation. Ms Ephraim holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Geoscience from the University of Bristol UK, and a MSc in Resources Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe (now Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) in Germany.
Judith Ephraim

Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Energy Unit at Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission

ELLISE DARWTON

Corporate Secretary/Legal Officer | Dominica Electricity Services Limited

Ellise Darwton is the Corporate Secretary/Legal Officer, at Dominica Electricity Services Limited (DOMLEC), the sole electric utility on the island of Dominica. DOMLEC operates within a liberalised electricity market, with a non-exclusive generation licence and an exclusive transmission and distribution licence.

As Legal Officer, Ellise’s primary focus is to provide sound legal and regulatory support to the board and management on all aspects of the company’s operations, its legal and regulatory environment and on matters specific to the energy sector. She advises on and provides legal oversight of all major projects of the company. In her role as Corporate Secretary, Ellise provides governance oversight to the Company’s Board and manages shareholder relations.

Ellise Darwton

Corporate Secretary/Legal Officer | Dominica Electricity Services Limited

CHARLIN BODLEY

WIRE Programme Manager

Ms Charlin Bodley is the Sustainable Energy Project Development and Gender Expert with the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE). She attained post-graduate qualifications and practical training in Geothermal Energy Project Management and Financing, graduating from the United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme, in Iceland in 2018. Charlin has been integrally involved in the Saint Lucia Geothermal Development Project as a champion, project team member and team lead for the Environmental Social Impact Assessment process.

Her passion for geothermal energy development in the Caribbean, lead her to being the founder of the Women in Geothermal Energy (WING) Caribbean Chapter, to influence diversity and acceleration of development of the resource in the regional geothermal industry. She is also the part-time programme manager for the Women in Renewable Energy Network, owned by the Clinton Climate Initiative and CARILEC.

Charlin Bodley

WIRE Programme Manager

MAXINE LAHAN

Manager, Geophysical Mapping, Mineral Resources Authority, Papua New Guinea

Maxine Lahan

Manager, Geophysical Mapping, Mineral Resources Authority, Papua New Guinea

Sponsored by:

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and territories in the Eastern Caribbean. It also performs the role of spreading responsibility and liability in the event of natural disaster.OECS currently has eleven members which together form a continuous archipelago across the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. The membership of OECS is comprised of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Monserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique are also associate members of OECS.

The Clinton Foundation

The Clinton Foundation is a non-profit organization established by former President of the United States Bill Clinton with the stated mission to "strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence. Its offices are located in New York City and Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Clinton Climate Initiative collaborates with world-class partners to increase the resiliency of communities facing climate change, and create replicable and sustainable models for others to follow. Our unique and innovative models encourage cross-sectorial collaborations. At the core of our engagement philosophy is Systems Thinking; identifying and activating leverage points that can create significant positive impact in climate change mitigation and energy transition for communities around the world. Through our programs and with our distinctive resources we aim to create measurable, meaningful, and lasting contributions.