a macroeconometric model describing the st. lucian economy was developed using 1970 to 1982 economic data. results of macroeconometric forecasts for the period 1983 through 1985 show an increase in gross domestic product (gdp) for 1983 and 1984 with a decline in 1985. the rate of population growth is expected to exceed gdp growth so that a small decline in per capita gdp will occur. we forecast that garment exports will increase, providing needed employment and foreign exchange. to obtain a longer-term but more general outlook on st. lucia's economy, and to evaluate the benefit of geothermal energy development, we applied a nonlinear programming model. the model maximizes discounted cumulative consumption. for the next 30 years, results show a 3 per year increase in gnp that is relatively insensitive to whether geothermal energy is installed or whether the price of oil increases by as much as 2 per year. if geothermal energy is installed, discounted cumulative consumption is increased by 2 to 4 and annual consumption by 3 to 9 by 2012, depending on the price of oil. in addition, installation of geothermal capacity markedly decreases energy costs and the demand for imported petroleum. with geothermal, energy costs as a percentage of gnp are decreased, thus leaving more funds to be spent for consumption and investment. (era citation 10:008712)