Above: WindWatt’s wind farm in Nevis (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Green energy is the destination for the Caribbean, and there is no turning back, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas told diplomats at the Third Caribbean Sustainable Energy Forum in St Kitts on Thursday.

Douglas was joined by 150 Caribbean participants and diplomats from the governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and the United Nations at the St Kitts Marriott Resort.

“Energy is a 21st-century obsession for government everywhere,” he said. “And so every nation understands the importance of reducing its vulnerability in this regard.”

St Kitts and Nevis has been among the region’s green energy pioneers, with a working wind farm in Nevis, a series of solar panel projects in Basseterre and a planned geothermal project in Nevis. St Kitts is also working with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for a similar wind project in St Kitts.

Several of the solar initiatives have been funded by the government of Taiwan.

While the geothermal project has experienced delays, Douglas said current projections foresee locally-generated geothermal energy “in two years.”

“We are moving to develop them all,” he said.

St Kitts is currently using solar panels at government headquarters in Basseterre, and Douglas said panels would be installed on “all newly constructed affordable homes in the Federation.”

Douglas also said a recently-announced project by a Taiwanese firm to build a facility to export solar panels in St Kitts would be ready by January of next year.

“As the smallest nation in the Western Hemisphere, we place a great deal of emphasis on in-depth planning and meticulous follow-through in all areas, but especially where finite fossil-fuel supplies, a warming planet, and a volatile world oil market are concerned,” he said.