Abu Dhabi Fund for Development signs US$15m loan for geothermal power station

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has signed an AED55 million (US$15 million) loan agreement with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to set up a geothermal power station in the country.

The agreement was signed by Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD and Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The project is being funded as part of the AED1.285 billion (US$350 million) ADFD/IRENA project facility, set up in 2012 to provide concessional financing for renewable energy projects in developing countries affiliated to International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA.

One of the five projects selected for funding as part of the second loan cycle facility, the power plant aims to utilise naturally occurring geothermal energy to plug the power shortage in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In the long term, the project will help drive the wider energy sector and accelerate sustainable economic development across the country’s 32 islands.

The geothermal power plant in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with a capacity of almost 15MW, will enhance the electricity grid in the island by utilising its natural renewable sources, while cutting the cost of electricity generation by 25 percent. In addition, the associated construction, operation and maintenance of the plant, the conversion station and 40km of transmission lines to connect the plant to the grid, is anticipated to create job opportunities for the local population.