内容摘要：His inflatable sculpture, The Withernsea 2, is now part of the gallery's permanent collection and is on display at the entrance.

His inflatable sculpture, The Withernsea 2, is now part of the gallery's permanent collection and is on display at the entrance.

"Geothermal is a great, zero-emission electricity that doesn't depend on wind or sun, and operates 24/7," Mr Blachar explains. "It brings jobs to a country, both during construction and, more importantly, during the plant's operations, along with new technology and expertise."Yet despite geothermal's green credentials, Dominica's new plant has raised concerns among some local residents, including environmentalist Atherton Martin who fears for the effects on the ecologically valuable Roseau Valley.

"There is no other area like it in the Caribbean," he says, adding that the removal of vegetation during the exploration process "decimated wildlife" including endemic frogs.Other residents told the BBC of some controversy over the amount of money the project was costing. It has certainly been several years in the making with the Dominican government alone said to have invested around $15m (£11.3m).Dr Henderson admits that the project is "not easy" for a country that "faced a big challenge" when it had to substantially repair its electricity network after 2017's Hurricane Maria. But he insists "it will be worth it in the end".

Another common fear about geothermal plants is the potential for triggering earthquakes.Ormat says it has never had a such an incident in its many years of operations.

Mr Blachar believes the Caribbean could become "a hub" for geothermal technology.

Ormat acquired Guadeloupe's plant from the French government in 2017 and is currently expanding it to boost its capacity to 25 megawatts.He has already scaled his business from a handful of staff using the hub's hot desks to a team of around 40 working from private offices in the former hospital, as well as remotely.

"That has been a great experience, that we've kind of been able [to] be nurtured here in a way," he says.Although not as mature – or well known globally – as other European start-up hubs like Sweden and the UK, Finland has been steadily making a name for itself in the tech scene over the last two decades.

The small Nordic nation, which has a population of around 5.6 million, has spawned 12 unicorn businesses – firms worth a billion dollars or more – including sleep and fitness tracking ring Oura, game developers Supercell, Rovio (the creators of the Angry Birds game), and food delivery platform Wolt.Last year, Startup Blink, a global index mapping more than 100 countries