RESDP Progress Report

Social Development & Safeguards

Final Verification and Sign-off Meeting to Facilitate Payment of Project Affected Households Completed

During the months of November and December the staff of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Renewable Energy Development Sector (RESDP), accompanied by the Social Transformation Officer for Soufriere and Choiseul and the Chairpersons of the Fond St. Jacques Development Committee, Belle Vue Farmers’ Cooperative Society and the Saltibus Youth and Sports Council; met individually with the 17 primary project affected person(s) (PPAPs) who represented the households who would lose crops, farm income and structures on lands that they presently occupied as a result of the upcoming civil works associated with the RESDP in Belvedere, Belle Plaine and Saltibus. The meetings were to have all PPAPs verify and agree to the final asset count and compensation amounts to be paid to their household for the assets lost to the households due to their economic displacement as a result of the project.

The verification and sign-off meetings were held at the Fond St. Jacques Technology Centre for Belvedere landholders, Belle Vue Farmers’ Cooperative Society for Belle Plaine landholders and Saltibus Combined School for Parc Estate landholders. The meeting with each PPAP proceeded smoothly with each PPAP agreeing to the asset loss count and compensation amount. These meetings were the second of two verification meetings with the first being held on September 23, when the asset count from the asset surveys of 2024 and the compensation amounts were first shared with the PPAPs. Each PPAP representing their respective household was allowed at least two months to review the recorded asset lost count and the proposed compensation amounts before participating in this final verification and sign-off meeting.

The representatives from Department of Social Transformation, Fond St. Jacques Development Committee, Belle Vue Farmers’ Cooperative Society and the Saltibus Youth and Sports Council witnessed the proceedings and were responsible for ensuring that the asset count and compensation amounts were thoroughly explained to each PPAP and that the PPAPs fully understood and agreed to what was being proposed to them.

Subsequent to the final verification and sign-off exercise, the PIU began the necessary steps to process compensation payments for the affected households.

Environmental Safeguards

UWI Seismic Research Centre and RESDP Sign Contract for Design, Supply, Installation and Monitoring of Seismic Monitoring Stations.

The contract for the implementation of the design, supply, installation and monitoring of seismic monitoring stations/network was signed between the RESDP and UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC) on September 20, 2025.

The overarching objective of the consultancy is design and installation of a seismic monitoring system that monitors and records ground vibrations in the vicinity of the drilling sites at Fond St. Jacques, Belle Plaine, and Saltibus. On installation, the records from the network will be used to correlate any claims of structural damage to structures, within a 300m radius around drilling sites, to vibrations occurring as a result of project activities.

During the period November 24 to 28, 2025, UWISRC’s technical team followed up with a five-day visit to Saint Lucia to conduct the following activities:

1. Location and visits to the seven selected monitoring sites – S01 to S07,
2. Visit to the various hardware companies to verify their ability to supply the required materials and supplies needed to establish the seismic monitoring network,
3. Meeting with Digicel to discuss telemetry to support the seismic monitoring equipment.

On December 10, 2025, a joint field trip was also held between the PIU and Digicel’s Technical Team. The purpose of the trip was as follows:

1. To allow both parties to know the physical locations of the Seismic Monitoring Points (SMPs),
2. To allow Digicel’s technicians to conduct the necessary research to determine how best they can assist the project to cover the needs of the network,
3. To allow the RESDP Community Laison Officer to start interaction with the landowners who were available on-site.

To date, the UWISRC has submitted to the RESDP its inception report, and design and supply report.

Final Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Environmental and Social Management Plan Received

Panorama Environmental Inc. submitted the final Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) documents to the RESDP on November 25, 2025.

The ESIAs for Saltibus, Belle Plaine and Fond St. Jacques present all the potential risks, impacts and concerns that the project activities will have on the environment and the communities within proximity to the project sites while the ESMPs for the same areas have identified the mitigation measures that will be adopted to avoid, reduce and manage the identified risks and impacts. These documents are available on the project’s website at https://www.sluresdp.com/resources.

Technical Coordination

RESDP Addresses Concerns over Green Buffer Zone Demarcation

The Green Buffer Zone demarcation survey has recommenced, and the PIU actively engaged communities to ensure a smooth and transparent process.

Recognizing the sensitive nature of the work, RESDP adopted a collaborative approach, working with key stakeholders to erect informative signs throughout the zone. As part of this renewed push for community engagement, Dr. Arthur Antoine, Project Technical Assistant and Windia Jaunai, Community Liaison Officer, conducted a personal visit to an affected resident to address concerns.

During the visit, the resident was provided detailed project updates, and explained the technical aspects of the demarcation process. This direct outreach underscores the project's commitment to proactive communication and ensuring that residents' concerns are heard and addressed as Saint Lucia pursues its goal of energy independence.

Modernizing Saint Lucia’s Energy Future – Our National Geothermal Bill Update

As part of the RESDP, the Government of Saint Lucia is making significant strides in modernizing the national legal and regulatory framework for clean energy. A key highlight of this initiative is the update of our draft Geothermal Resource Development Bill (2012), which aims to create a stable, home-grown energy foundation to reduce reliance on expensive imported fuels and lower electricity costs for all Saint Lucians. This updated legislation will be designed to ensure national energy security by establishing clear rules for resource ownership and investment. Crucially, the Bill integrates rigorous environmental and social safeguards to protect the island’s natural heritage, including the Pitons Management Area, and ensures that local communities directly benefit from geothermal development such as the introduction of "direct-use" applications like agro-processing and wellness tourism, in addition to renewable energy for electricity.

To support this transition, the OECS GEOBUILD have contracted consultants Partnership International, Inc. and Arthur John Armstrong, P.C. (joint venture) to serve as an advisory team. This advisory team is working closely with national stakeholders. During upcoming stakeholder meetings scheduled for February 2026, these experts will provide an overview of the Bill’s core objectives and seek input from public, community, and institutional stakeholders. Public input remains essential to ensuring this legislation serves the best interests of the nation.

The PIU encourages all stakeholders to participate in these upcoming sessions between February 24th and 27th and engage directly with the advisory team to help shape Saint Lucia’s renewable energy future. Meetings for institutional stakeholders from the north of Saint Lucia will be held at the DIPT Conference Room and the south at the Leisure Inn, Soufriere. While Country Lime, Green Room, Lambert’s Hideaway and M&L Disco, will serve as the venues for the community sessions in Belle Plaine, Fond St. Jacques, and Saltibus.