Mount St. Catherine: the geothermal bet just got bigger
Preparatory work is now ongoing for Grenada’s expanded geothermal exploration drilling campaign at Mount St. Catherine. The plan has been upgraded — wider wells via directional drilling instead of the originally planned slim-hole wells — pushing the project timeline to 2028. The new phase is backed by a £10M contribution from the UK’s FCDO, building on the Caribbean Development Bank’s USD $9.4M approval in 2023, with additional support from the IDB, the Global Environment Facility, the EU, the Government of Italy, and technical assistance from New Zealand.
PM Dickon Mitchell framed it directly: the results of this drilling phase will determine geothermal’s role in the country’s long-term energy future. The political-economy translation: if the wells confirm commercially viable resource, Grenada has a credible path off imported diesel that few of its OECS peers can claim. If they do not, the climate-finance window narrows.
Project Management Unit established. Environmental and social impact assessments completed. Land acquisition done. Engineering and procurement at advanced stages. The pieces are in place — the next phase is the well, and the well is the answer.
VAT on digital services: the framework is here, the rate is not
Grenada is preparing to implement VAT on digital services — Zoom, Coursera, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, and similar platforms. The intent is sound: the digital sector is a documented leakage point where consumer spend leaves the local economy entirely. The framework includes the reverse-charge mechanism for businesses consuming services from non-resident providers.
The gap in the Bill is the rate itself, and the threshold. Without specifics, compliance becomes guesswork and investment decisions get postponed. A clear, calibrated rate — high enough to capture the leakage, low enough not to push activity underground — is what stakeholders need to see in the next draft. The enforcement question is the second one: cross-border digital transactions are notoriously hard to monitor without invoicing infrastructure that the tax authority does not yet have.
This is one to watch as it moves through Parliament.
Linda Straker
The Government of Grenada has expressed deep sorrow at the passing of journalist Linda Straker. PM Dickon Mitchell’s tribute described her as a fearless presence in the Grenadian media landscape. Her body of work covered decades, and the gap she leaves is real. The Grenadian press community will be processing this through the week.
Cost-of-living warnings sharpen
GBN reporting flags growing concern about cost of living as global tensions continue to ripple through small-state economies. Government and union voices are signalling that Grenada will feel the effects, with Senator Salim Rahaman urging Caribbean coordination on managing oil-price volatility and a gradual move toward renewables.
The geothermal play above is the long-term answer. The short-term answer is the harder one — whether wage policy, fuel subsidies, or import-cost mitigation get any space in the next budget cycle.
Quick hits
- Grenadian General Insurance marked 35 years with a Spice Island Beach Resort event. PM Mitchell delivered remarks acknowledging the firm’s role in business confidence.
- Edinburgh Napier University delegation visited Grenada this week to discuss its global online MBA and MBM portfolio — pricing under US$10K, modular pay-as-you-go.
- GAPSS inter-col championships entered day two with strong attendance.
- Escazú Agreement — the OpEd circulating from UN Human Rights Office regional rep Michelle Brathwaite calls on more Caribbean states to ratify; Grenada is already among the ten.
- 17th RHS Chelsea Gold — the Ministry of Tourism is moving to formalise tangible recognition of the achievement.
What we’re watching
The next draft of the digital services VAT Bill — specifically whether a rate appears. Without it, the Bill is theatre. With it, this becomes one of the most consequential tax moves of the year.
Compiled from NOW Grenada, GBN, Think GeoEnergy, and Caribbean Development Bank. Tradewinds Brief Newsroom.