Above: Dominica (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Dominica’s government has signed an $18.1 million contract with the Iceland Drilling Company to begin drilling a pair of full-sized geothermal wells in the Roseau Valley area.

One production well will be drilled in Laudat, with a reinjection well planned for Lily Valley, Trafalgar.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said that while there were many projects that could have been capitalized with these funds, from road networks to housing, the geothermal project “will help us in the future to address all of these challenges.”

If fully realized, the geothermal project would mean lower energy costs domestically, and the potential to export energy to Martinique and Guadeloupe, he said.

The well drilling work is expected to begin by June 2013.

“I see this as a major source of investment and activity again in the Roseau Valley,” said Parliamentary Representative for the Roseau Valley, Dr Colin McIntyre. “Looking now ahead to what’s coming, the level of investment and government plans to produce that sort of energy — I see it as a great opportunity for investment in Dominica in terms of lowering the cost of green, environmentally-friendly energy that can really take our country to the next level.”

In October, Iceland Drilling signed a contract to drill two geothermal wells in Montserrat, which is also exploring geothermal energy.