Dominica's geothermal plant supplies 10.4MW to national grid during reliability test

Dominica: The mandatory seven-day reliability test at Dominica's geothermal power plant resumed on July 1 after engineers successfully resolved the technical issues that caused the island-wide power outages in June. The plant is currently supplying approximately 10.4MW of electricity to the national grid.

Speaking during a press conference on July 2, Prime Minister Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit said engineers and technical specialists conducted extensive investigations into the island-wide power outages experienced on June 17 and 18. He noted that the technical issues were successfully resolved with all corrective measures completed and tested on June 30 which paved the way for the reliability test to resume.

PM Skerrit noted that the two outages resulted from different circumstances. However, the investigators found a common issue involving the coordination of protection settings between the battery energy storage system and the geothermal power plant and the adjustments were completed following the successful testing on June 30.

The Prime Minister described the development as another significant milestone as the geothermal power plant moves towards commercial operation. However, he noted that the commissioning process remains a highly complex exercise involving sophisticated technology being integrated for the first time in the Caribbean.

This is another significant milestone as we move toward full commercial operation but I also want to be very transparent with you, the citizens and residents of our country, this remains a highly complex commissioning exercise involving sophisticated technology being integrated for the first time in the Caribbean, PM Skerrit said.

The Prime Minister mentioned that the commissioning is specifically designed to identify and resolve the remaining technical issues before the commercial services become operational.

He said that every issue identified is being addressed promptly and thoroughly even though no responsible engineer can guarantee that additional adjustments will never be required or occur. The PM further emphasised that this transformative project will significantly provide cleaner, reliable and affordable electricity for the people of Dominica in the future.